The revival of IPOs in Europe and more disquiet in sustainability-linked bonds

The first two IPOs in Europe this year were priced this week, for Ionos and EuroGroup Laminations. They were a key test for the market after a dismal 2022 when many new listings were shelved as market participants grappled with inflation, rising rates, the threat of recession and geopolitical horrors. We examine what the deals tell us about equity capital markets this year.

Meanwhile, all is not well in the sustainability-linked bond market, a nascent crucible of innovation that aims to help issuers meet environmental targets. We look into why investors are calling the coupons the bonds pay irrelevant and look at the latest efforts to value the economics of these trades more meaningfully. We also look at a new resource to evaluate government green bonds.

Finally, although the bond markets has had a stellar start to the year, activity in the loans markets - an alternative source of capital for companies - is way down. We ask why and discover why having such a busy bond market could in fact be a source of encouragement for lenders.