France

Bpifrance has announced a euro benchmark, following in the footsteps of two other French issuers that came to market this week.

European banks made the most of an improving tone in the euro market this week, piling on top of one another to access funding in a small but supportive window.

Portuguese insurance company Fidelidade is looking to sell a tier two bond this week, three years after first exploring the idea of issuing a subordinated debt instrument.

A proposed French law may incentivise owners to take out loans that improve the energy efficiency of their homes, which could boost green mortgage production and green covered bond issuance.

French banks and foreign rivals are slugging it out in France’s corporate finance boom, where proximity to the government is an advantage, writes David Rothnie.

French electric utility company Engie has raised €538m from the sale of Gaztransport Et Technigaz (GTT) shares and exchangeable bonds.

Aramis, the French company that specialises in online car sales, has launched an IPO on the Paris stock exchange. The deal already has some interest from investors, but sources say the IPO market is getting increasingly hard, with investors taking longer to put in orders and heavily scrutinising deals.

BPCE re-established confidence in the primary covered bond market with a successful €1.5bn nine year green transaction on Tuesday, opening the way for other issuers planning deals.

UBS Group made a swift return to the dollar bond market on Tuesday, as it went in search of an additional tier one transaction a day after raising $3bn of senior unsecured debt.

Europe’s IPO pipeline is set to grow this week with new deals being launched and some live deals scheduled to open books, but banks acknowledged that execution conditions were difficult, given heightened equity market turbulence.

Volatility subsided amid a series of public holidays in Europe on Monday, raising hopes for a busier week of bank bond supply.

Large European banks shifted their funding focus to the dollar market this week, printing stunning deals as the euro market showed it was more sensitive to signs of tighter monetary policy. Tyler Davies reports.