ABN Amro

The FIG pipeline has slowed to a drip, with the upcoming ECB meeting and Brexit talks bookending what could be the last week of open windows for issuance.

The UK’s SSE Renewables and Norway’s Equinor, two energy companies, have signed what lenders say is the largest ever offshore wind project financing, a £5.5bn package for a wind farm off the UK coast.

Deal arrangers expect that next week will be the last real window for issuance in 2020, with investors set to close down activity from the middle of December.

BNP Paribas took advantage of the thirst for duration in the euro bond market on Thursday, offering investors a chance to get hold of long dated non-preferred senior paper.

Investors pumped €11.65bn of orders into €1.6bn of green and sustainable corporate bonds on Wednesday when paper company Stora Enso, utility Fluvius and real estate firm Cofinimmo all built bulging order books.

Erste Group Bank and Société Générale both capitalised on the euro market’s extremely favourable conditions this week, pricing new subordinated deals in line with fair value or even through it.

An accounting standard was launched on Wednesday that could prove a major step forward in how banks and investors calculate their contributions to climate change, and their progress towards net zero emissions.

TenneT, the Dutch transmission system operator, brought a dual tranche bond on Monday that was bang on trend as far as investors were concerned. The company's shrewd choice of a long dated green bond allowed it to increase the deal while printing it flat to or just through fair value.

A trio of rare issuers found a window for issuance in the FIG bond market on Thursday, with Nykredit and Hamburg Commercial Bank accessing a tightening senior non-preferred market, while Íslandsbanki launched Iceland's first ever sustainable bond

Financial institutions jumped into action this week, as positive news on the development of a Covid-19 vaccine led to superlative funding conditions in the euro market.

Less frequent issuers found a window for issuance in the FIG bond market on Thursday, with Íslandsbanki launching Iceland's first ever sustainable bond and Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCB) focusing on non-preferred senior debt after twice delaying plans for a tier two.

Nykredit Realkredit did not need a premium to launch a new non-preferred bond in euros on Thursday, with spreads in the asset class having now returned to where they were before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.