UniCredit

Small cracks started to appear in the euro corporate bond market on Thursday, after a busy month, as companies launched a spate of deals. An already bulging pipeline means there will be little time for the market to catch its breath.

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) is seeking lenders’ consent to amend terms of a $5.5bn dual-tranche loan sealed last year, as it undergoes a debt restructuring, according to bankers.

No less than three dual tranche corporate bond deals hit the market on Tuesday, as BMW, Abertis, and AbbVie jostled for the attention of investors with €2bn, €1.5bn and €1.4bn deals.

L-Bank is preparing to issue a floating rate note linked to €STR, the recommended new risk-free rate in euros which the European Central Bank will begin publishing on October 2.

Italian banks are taking advantage of excellent new issuance conditions, as investors re-establish their confidence in the country's new government. On Tuesday it was Banca Monte dei Paschi’s turn to do so with a euro-denominated preferred senior bond, one day after UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo.

CaixaBank launched a non-preferred senior bond linked to social causes on Tuesday, while Raiffeisen Bank International launched a green preferred senior bond. Both deals were heavily oversubscribed on a day that one banker described as 'ridiculously busy'.

UniCredit has become the first Italian bank to launch a new deal since a new government took office in the country. The €1.25bn tier two attracted €3bn of orders and was tightened more than expected, according to one of the leads.

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The car industry has long been a staple of the Schuldschein market, but this year more than borrowers than usual have taken a spin round the market in search of debt. The product has attracted a wide range of manufacturers, from its native Germany and the rest of Europe.

MTU Aero Engines, the German maker of aircraft engines, has issued a €515m convertible bond before being promoted to Germany’s Dax benchmark index later this month.

Corporate bond issuers made full use of the last few days before the European Central Bank's much-anticipated announcement on monetary policy on Thursday. Despite the hectic activity of the past two weeks, investors were still oversubscribing deals two or three times.

The frenzy of investment grade corporate bond issuance in Europe intensified on Thursday, when eight companies came to market, issuing a total of €6.6bn of paper in euros. That brought the total for the first four days of this week to over €20bn. Despite the heavy supply, issuers have found sufficient demand to support their notes.