DZ Bank

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten included its environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings in a mandate announcement for its upcoming sustainability bond on Monday, following in the footsteps of KfW which kickstarted the movement with its green bond tap last week.

Issuers in the financial institutions bond market do not want to see the chance for cheap funding slip, so more are lining up deals. On Monday, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) mandated leads for a preferred senior bond in euros, and UK insurer Utmost International said it was aiming for an senior unsecured bond in sterling.

KfW made a simple but potentially significant step in the evolution of bond markets this week as it became the first borrower to highlight its environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings in term sheets for a bond issue, from the mandate announcement to the final pricing details. SSA bankers and issuers have applauded the move and other public sector borrowers are looking to follow, writes Burhan Khadbai.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

KfW returned to the euro market on Tuesday for a tap of its euro May 2027 green bond. The deal offered a small new issue concession at the final spread, as the euro SSA pipeline winds down in the final months of the year.

KfW will come to market for a €1bn tap of its May 2027 green bond. The deal will bring the amount remaining in the issuer’s 2019 funding programme to €2bn. Bankers say that there are few significant deals in the pipeline and only limited appetite for pre-funding.

Caffil, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Danish Ship Finance, Deutsche Bank, DZ Hyp, mBank, and NordLB are lining up a plethora of unusual and inaugural issuance, as they look to benefit from the European Central Bank’s decision to resume net purchases at higher-than-expected volumes.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) got away without having to pay any sort of a premium for its debut non-preferred senior bond on Monday, despite having to compete for attention with Nordic peer OP Corporate Bank.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is getting ready to offer FIG investors a very rare chance to purchase green bank capital in euros, with the issuer set to hit the road for a new tier two in November.

Berlin Hyp on Monday launched its first preferred senior bond in green format. The German issuer chose a 10 year maturity and quickly attracted orders, supported by an investor community that follows the bank’s frequent green issuance.

Berlin Hyp announced on Friday that it intended to sell a preferred senior bond in green format. It is the second German bank this week to disclose intentions to market a bond, following LBBW.

The short end of the euro curve is becoming the new sweet spot for public sector borrowers, according to SSA bankers, despite the deeply negative yields in these maturities. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (Ico) and Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) are all enjoying strong outings with three or five year tenors this week.