Wells Fargo Securities

High grade corporates are champing at the bit to access the dollar market as credit spreads continue to rally and investors continue to put money to work.

The new-look Fox Corp made its dollar bond debut this week as the technical backdrop in the investment grade continued to improve with tightening spreads and thinner new issue concessions.

On Monday, the US deliveries group FedEx returned to the euro corporate bond market for the first time since its debut visit in 2016 when it raised €3bn to finance its purchase of Dutch peer TNT Express. That deal was a four-tranche combination, but its latest deal was just a €500m 3.5 year deal to refinance the shortest tranche of the debut deal.

Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) has launched a $700m multi-tranche loan into general syndication, raising some debate among bankers about the tight pricing on offer.

There has been precious little cheer in the dollar market but Anheuser Busch Inbev (AB InBev) provided some on Thursday when it printed the biggest corporate investment grade trade since October amid signs of improving sentiment.

Berkshire Hathaway was one of five issuers to brave choppy conditions on Thursday and open the dollar market with the first trades of 2019.

Four borrowers piled into the dollar bond market on Thursday, adding to one of the busiest weeks of the year despite tough market conditions. UK telecoms company BT led the charge with a $1.35bn two-part deal.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

A pair of socially responsible deals from public sector borrowers failed to set the market alight this week. The order books were only marginally oversubscribed and the spreads did not tighten from the initial price thoughts.

The European Investment Bank this week brought its first dollar floating rate note linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Sofr) — the likely replacement for dollar Libor — and set two landmarks for the fledgling benchmark. But one of those, on the coupon calculation, truly sets it apart from the other Sofr FRNs to come so far. As Craig McGlashan reports, it also creates an intriguing market choice as the financial sector prepares for a world without Libor.

The African Development Bank and Nederlandse Waterschapsbank were able to sell a pair of oversubscribed no-grow $500m socially responsible deals on Tuesday, despite tougher market conditions as the end of the year approaches.

The African Development Bank mandated banks on Monday for the first green bond linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, Sofr.