UniCredit

Iren, the Italian utility, sold a €300m green bond on Thursday, being the only name to brave the markets on the same day as the European Central Bank meeting.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, has signed €8bn of syndicated loans, claiming to be the first large biopharma group to switch its syndicated bank lines to sustainability-linked metrics.

Deutsche Bank is joining the ranks of banks that tie their top managers’ bonuses to sustainability targets, highlighting the fact that there is great variety in how this is done among leading investment banks.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena led a trio of speculative grade Italian banks into the euro bond market this week, as credit investors showed that no issuers were off limit in their increasingly desperate search for yield. Tyler Davies reports.

Jean Pierre Mustier's departure from UniCredit may help Italy in an attempt — shared by governments and supervisors around Europe — to push the banking sector to help solve economic policy problems during the pandemic.

Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) have hogged much of the limelight in the socially responsible investment markets this year. But transition bonds, which had fallen out of favour for some time, have demonstrated there is clear demand for the product, following a strong deal for Snam this week and guidelines due for release in the coming days, writes Mike Turner.

Opportunistic corporate issuers had a strong week of it in Europe's bond market, increasing deal sizes and enjoying bulging order books as investors turned positive on the outlook for the market.

Two banks landed tight with environmental, social and governance (ESG) themed deals this week: Crédit Agricole settled at a record low on its social bond debut, while DZ Bank came even tighter with its first senior non-preferred green bond.

Webuild, the Italian construction company formerly known as Salini Impregilo, has launched a refinancing of its €600m 2021 bond, after finally completing the takeover of stricken competitor Astaldi at the beginning of last month. The new tender offer is intended to finish a refi attempt started in January, which received lacklustre take-up.

UniCredit chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier upset the Italian establishment but he acted in the best interests of shareholders. But if he moves on, the bank would face an uncertain fate amid a new chapter of domestic and international banking M&A, writes David Rothnie.

Sub-investment grade Italian lenders Banco BPM and Illimity Bank were well-supported in the euro bond market on Thursday, as investors showed they were more than happy to look at riskier names in their search for yield.

Opportunistic corporate issuers had a strong day of it on Wednesday in Europe's bond market, increasing deal sizes and enjoying bulging order books as investors turned positive on the outlook for the market.