UniCredit

The European corporate bond market is preparing for another dose of quantitative easing this year and with the US Federal Reserve having finally pressed the rate button, Ross Lancaster explores what the side effects of central bank policy divergence will be.

Investment grade loan pricing has stopped falling — meaning the flow of refinancing deals is ebbing. Mergers and acquisitions, as ever, are what banks want, and they are confident of getting more in 2016. But will banks finally get round to weeding out unprofitable relationships? Rob Cooke reports.

Commodities trader Trafigura will next week launch its refinancing of a $5.3bn facility, with Glencore expected to follow shortly thereafter. Bankers believe these issuers will retain support from key lenders, despite their mixed successes in 2015.

Oil trader Vitol is syndicating a $3bn loan with a margin of 185bp and should complete the deal by the end of the month, according to a banker involved.

Private bank Otkritie has nearly completed a $185m one year loan, one of only a few international loans completed by Russian banks since the introduction of financial sanctions on the country by the US and European Union in late 2014.

Russian fertiliser producer EuroChem has secured a €557m club loan for a subsidiary with the support of SACE, the Italian credit export agency.

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the emerging market, public sector, financial institution and corporate bond markets. Below are the EM Deals of the Year 2015. We selected the trades that we think will be remembered for their success in challenging conditions, for making the best use of the demand available to them, or for having made a longer lasting impact, such as the re-opening of a market. The winners are presented here.

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the corporate, high yield, public sector, financial institution and emerging market bond markets. Below are the High Yield Deals of the Year 2015.

After an eventful year for European corporate bonds, HSBC has ousted BNP Paribas as top bookrunner for European issuers, though BNPP stays top for all corporate issues in euros.

Kathrein, the German communications technology manufacturer, has signed a €350m revolving credit facility for refinancing purposes.

The last time a newly rated Italian issuer tried to issue a corporate high yield bond was in May — but take a step back and the wider picture points at a resilient, vibrant market with an investor base up for the challenge. Victor Jimenez reports.

Italian banks have come through a challenging year as pressures — from regulators, markets and the economy — waxed and waned. Issuers and investors have had to navigate the looming introduction of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, Total Loss Absorbing Capacity and Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities, which have changed the dynamics between senior unsecured paper, covered bonds and capital issuance. The Italian market also felt one of the strongest impacts in the eurozone from the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme, which provided cheap liquidity and tightened issuance spreads, but in some cases appeared to drive investors away and into higher-yielding asset classes. Meanwhile, an economy clawing its way back to health continued to impose a heavy burden of non-performing loans, and legislative reforms left smaller players in the sector looking for merger partners. In this roundtable, held in early December, leading funding officials and bankers gathered to discuss these issues and more.