UniCredit

After a day of global investor calls on Tuesday, Gas Networks Ireland and Radiotelevisione Italiana (Rai) launched sub-benchmark bonds on Wednesday morning. That followed a deal by Tamburi Investment Partners on Tuesday.

Italy’s Tamburi Investment Partners brought a sub-bechmark five year trade on Tuesday, with similar deals for Gas Networks Ireland and Radiotelevisione Italia waiting in the wings.

Sanlorenzo, the Italian maker of luxury yachts, is hoping to succeed where its competitor Ferretti failed, having fixed a price range for its €192.5m IPO on the Borsa Italiana, which values the company at up eight times its forward Ebitda, people familiar with the matter said.

Switzerland’s Also Holding has signed a €300m revolving credit facility, with the B2B technology company making the step from bilateral to syndicated lending.

Italian banks have made the most of improving market conditions in 2019, with the average cost of five year senior debt having fallen by 40bp in the last six months, according to Bank of Italy data.

Austrian bank Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberoesterreich has visited the MTN market to print a rare constant maturity swap (CMS) linked note - its first since 2018, according to Dealogic.

Financial institutions bond bankers expect that new deal flow will come to a standstill in the primary market at the end of next week, as investors close the lid on an agreeable year for returns.

High grade companies stormed the European bond market with an array of tranches on Wednesday, and investors snapped up the trades, despite it being so late in the year.

Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione, a crossover-rated Italian property company, brought a sub-benchmark five year bond on Wednesday and shaved 25bp off the spread during execution.

Credito Valtellinese (Creval) found strong demand for a €300m preferred senior bond on Tuesday, allowing it to push the pricing through its guidance range.

Financial institutions are rushing to sell new deals in the euro market, fearful that the window for issuance will close after Thanksgiving in the US next week.

The positive market backdrop has driven smaller and less well-known bank issuers to come forward with rare new bond issues. But they are showing up just as investors pack up for the year, meaning they must work hard to lure enough demand, writes David Freitas.