BBVA

Banco BPM and Abanca made use of favourable issuance conditions this week to beef up their capital buffers. The Italian lender priced the 10 year non-call five deal at a 4.25% coupon and the Spanish issuer priced its 10.5 year non-call 5.5 year bond at 4.625%.

Generali was the talk of the FIG bond market this week as it became the first west European financial institution to issue a tier two capital note in green bond format. The insurer’s pioneering spirit reaped rewards, with the green element variously estimated to have shorn 5bp-10bp from its cost of funding. That could tempt other firms to issue subordinated green debt. David Freitas reports.

Abanca Corporación Bancaria returned to the euro bond market on Thursday for its second tier two of the year. The Spanish lender was able to tighten pricing for its €300m deal by 50bp, helped by an order book that was nearly four times subscribed.

BBVA launched a senior non-preferred bond in the euro market this week as activity slowed after a busy period for new FIG issuance. The €1bn trade attracted orders of €1.8bn and gave investors a small new issue premium, according to a syndicate banker.

Assicurazioni Generali has become the first European financial institution to launch a green tier two bond. The Italian insurer attracted €3.25bn of orders, helping it to price its €750m deal about 10bp inside fair value, according to a syndicate banker.

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.

Wells Fargo hasn't wasted time in the bond market this week. It launched a euro senior bond on Wednesday, a day after raising sterling debt. Concurrently, Spanish lender Kutxabank was marketing a senior non-preferred bond in euros, its debut in the format.

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.

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'.

Corporate bond issuance in euros was busy again on Tuesday, with four deals, but they were moderately sized, so the total was nothing like Monday's haul of €6bn and £1.25bn.

Commerzbank attracted only €700m of demand for a €500m non-preferred senior bond this week, with a lead manager suggesting the deal showed the ‘state of the market’ as it welcomes an influx of tightly priced supply.

Five new corporate bond issues including a €3bn issue from AT&T hit the market on Wednesday, after Danaher had completed its €6.25bn deal on Tuesday, leaving room for more companies to borrow.