Coronavirus

Lloyds Bank decided to tender some of its covered bonds in three major currencies this week in what it called a “prudent approach” towards its liquidity base. The move could prompt more issuance in the asset class this year in an effort to refinance some of the tendered securities, but it could also decrease liquidity at the short end of the curve, given the cheaper refinancing alternatives open to banks.

Argentina is set to enter default on its international debt for the ninth time on Friday, but the sovereign curve performed well this week as investors and analysts say that creditors will continue negotiations well after the grace period on $503m of coupon payments expires.

Investors say that bond markets are wide open for many Brazilian companies, but even as access to credit has suddenly become a major topic for the country's corporate executives, most of the cash-rich companies they run are shying away from international markets and betting that they will be able to achieve better borrowing terms in the future than are on offer today.

Safety measures to respond to the coronavirus threat are forcing a rethink of office space at financial firms. And in the long-term, banks are set to reconsider their physical footprint and how much work can be carried out remotely, according to managers and experts.

Only in Argentina could a finance minister claim that default on billions of dollars of bonds constitutes merely an “anecdotal date”.

The IPO of JDE Peet’s, the coffee business owned by JAB Holdings, is the first true test of investor appetite for European IPOs since the Covid-19 crisis began. There have been small listings already but nothing on this scale, yet the company is confident that it will succeed, write Sam Kerr and Aidan Gregory.

Dollars was the favoured currency for public sector borrowers for the second week running this week, giving attractive funding conditions for euro borrowers amid strong investor demand, particularly in the 10 year part of the curve.

Deutsche Lufthansa, the airline, is in advanced talks for a €9bn bailout from the German state, amid a flurry of European governments pumping billions of dollars into the ailing airline industry.

Italy completed the sale a five year BTP Italia on Thursday for a record breaking size of €22.297bn to finance measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Demand for the product was boosted by the Franco-German EU recovery fund proposal.

The new UK insolvency law, introduced into the British parliament on Wednesday, will allow unconsenting creditor classes, including secured creditors, to be crammed down during a restructuring. This could mean bondholders and banks, rather than landlords, take more of the pain in the coming wave of corporate distress. Hotel chain Travelodge is likely to be one of the first major companies to use the new rules.

Emerging market bond issuance, particularly from the Middle East, has been recovering after the brutal March shocks of Covid-19 and low oil prices. Egypt took that momentum further on Thursday as it announced a triple tranche trade.

Whitbread, the parent of Premier Inn and Beefeater Restaurants, has unveiled plans for a £1bn rights issue tp bolster its balance sheet following mass disruption in the hospitality industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced the closure of pubs and hotels in the UK.