Coronavirus

UniCredit attracted plenty of demand for a €1.25bn sale of non-preferred senior debt in euros on Wednesday, as issuers took advantage of strong funding conditions ahead of the summer period.

Melco Resorts Finance was forced to pay a premium to secure orders for its $500m bond this week amid a wider underperformance of recent casino deals.

Two groups of UK MPs held an online meeting today to welcome and promote a report into how the banking sector can support a ‘just transition’ to a low carbon economy. The report’s recommendations included creating a National Investment Bank to replace the role played by the European Investment Bank and for the UK to issue a green Gilt.

Ecuador’s market-friendly debt restructuring hit a bump in the road this week as bondholders put forward proposals that would include conditions around environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Fitch played down fears about the impact of payment holidays on UK covered bond pools this week, arguing that high credit quality would offer a strong line of defence against defaults.

South Korea’s NongHyup Bank (NH Bank) added to the flow of Covid-19 linked bonds from Asia on Monday. It raised $500m from a five year social bond.

A recent surge in dollar bond supply tempered enthusiasm among investors for Vista Land & Lifescapes’ $200m outing.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has kicked off its annual rating process of domestic securities houses after updating several grading metrics and adding two bonus criteria.

Following investor calls last Friday, two public sector borrowers hit the market for new dollar bonds on Monday, with IDB Invest going for a three year maturity and the Japan International Cooperation Agency making a rare appearance for a 10 year trade.

Market participants expect that bank debt issuance activity will slow down in anticipation of earnings season over the next few weeks. But deal arrangers suggest banks will still be keen to access the primary market during this period, should conditions remain favourable.

Italy did not set the world alight with the sale of its first government bond targeted exclusively to retail investors. The proceeds will be used to finance measures related to Italy's post-Covid-19 economic recovery.

Each week, Keeping Tabs brings you the very best of what we have found most useful, interesting and informative from around the web. This week: liquidity in the age of central banks, making bank capital green, and US fiscal stimulus.