Commerzbank

Phoenix Pharmahandel, the German pharmaceutical company, issued a five year euro-denominated bond on Wednesday, as pharma companies across the credit spectrum continue to hold investors’ attention.

German pharmaceutical company, Phoenix Pharmahandel (Phoenix Group), held investor calls on Monday after mandating banks for a sub-benchmark sized offering in euros. The deal is the latest stab at funding by a pharmaceutical company — a sector which has lured greater numbers of investors thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wordline, the French payments company, has returned to the equity-linked market to sell a new five-year €600m convertible bond at a negative yield.

The double whammy of coronavirus and a crisis at the top of the bank makes the most testing of times for the new head of Commerzbank’s corporate clients division to make his mark. But Roland Boekhout has a broad vision for the firm’s corporate and investment bank and ideas for how to implement it, writes David Rothnie.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

Investors turned out in force as KfW brought its first benchmark green bond of the year this week. The strong demand allowed the German agency to print its joint biggest ever green bond on the back of its largest ever order book for such a deal along with an attractive pricing advantage over a conventional bond.

Euro investors are sniffing around further out along the SSA curve, with Euratom returning after a two year absence to print a 10 year bond earmarked to fund power plant safety measures in Ukraine, while the Treasury Corp of Victoria tapped demand past the 30 year point.

KfW made a strong return to the benchmark green bond market on Tuesday, taking advantage of a more attractive pricing dynamic for green bonds over conventional issuance compared to earlier in the year.

KfW will lead the charge in the euro public sector bond market on Tuesday with a €3bn green bond that will match its biggest ever deal in the format. Eurofima and the State of Berlin are also preparing to bring bonds to the euro market.

Germany is calling for bids for state-owned Depfa Bank, the once prolific issuer of Irish and German covered bonds whose parent, Hypo Real Estate, was taken into public ownership as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. There is little chance, however, that the transaction could see the issuer return to the covered bond market.

Commerzbank’s future strategy is up in the air after it was announced that its chief executive and chairman would be leaving after its “5.0” strategy received a poor welcome.

Crédit Agricole Assurances (CAA) added to the subordinated deal flow in the FIG bond market on Tuesday by launching a tier two bond. The French insurer benefitted from the rarity of its appearances in primary markets, and the large deal size meant that although the issuer paid some premium, it "did not leave much value on the table", according to a lead manager.