Belgium

The euro senior corporate market slowed right down over the summer, but the actual break in issuance was for barely two weeks. For hybrid deals, however, it was nearly seven weeks from the last new issue to Belgian electricity grid operator Elia’s deal this week.

An IPO of Belfius Bank is set to go ahead after the Belgian government reached a deal on Monday over compensation for losses suffered by some shareholders during the crisis-era rescue of Dexia.

Belgian postal operator Bpost announced a debut benchmark eight year deal within 48 hours of finishing an investor roadshow and achieved a very high quality order book for an eight year bond.

The €90m re-IPO of Belgian shoe retailer FNG was due to be priced at €27 on Thursday, above the bottom of the initial €26.25 to €29.75 range, according to a banker involved in the transaction.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia has launched its first ever 50 year benchmark, coming to market just as Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten landed at the short end.

Two corporate bond issuers from opposite ends of the ratings spectrum found similar success with new bonds on Wednesday. The seven and eight year tenors found favour with investors looking to put new cash inflows to work.

Vittoria Assicurazioni and P&V Assurances went ahead with very similar debut deals on Wednesday. But the trades enjoyed contrasting levels of success, with Vittoria the only one able to attract a substantial amount of oversubscription.

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia is set to bring its longest ever euro benchmark, as public sector borrowers line up trades across the currency’s curve.

Investors with a green mandate flocked to KBC Bank’s first green senior unsecured transaction, which was more than three times subscribed and priced flat to its curve.

European member states and the EU Parliament will soon begin difficult talks to decide the length of an additional clearing exemption for pension funds.

NN Bank paid a generous premium this week to issue the first Dutch conditional pass through (CPT) covered bond of 2018. The deal emerged at the same time as Belfius Bank returned to the covered bond market with a 10 year.

Larry Thompson, vice-chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp, on Tuesday suggested that populist rhetoric in the US might be overshadowing President Trump's strong choices of leaders in independent financial oversight agencies.