ING

German auto and industrial supplier Schaeffler has launched an inaugural Schuldschein. The funds will be used in accordance with its green finance framework.

UK insurer Hiscox said on Monday that it had received some ‘small claims’ relating to Covid-19, as credit analysts warned that the insurance sector was exposed to indirect impacts from the spread of the virus.

The only high yield bond deal being actively marketed in euros this week has been postponed. The deal was for Fugro, the Dutch company that provides geographical data and asset integrity services to onshore and offshore industries. It was a debut issue for a listed company with no sponsor involved, so there had been good interest, but market conditions just proved too difficult.

Rating: Baa1/A-/A+

HSBC and Standard Chartered are expecting lower profits and higher loan impairments this year due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak and an economic downturn in Hong Kong.

Conditions are changing so fast with the coronavirus epidemic that each day could bring a change in sentiment, but for the time being leveraged finance is staying calm and continuing to function. There is more activity in this high risk corner of Europe’s capital markets than in any other, apart from sovereign, supranational and agency bonds.

Paccar Financial, the leasing arm of Paccar, the US maker of DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks, braved the European market on Wednesday to print a sub-benchmark sized bond, as syndicate officials said the market could move wider.

MTN deal volumes year-to-date have slumped by nearly a third year on year, falling from $51.6bn in 2019 to $35bn this year. The fall has been particularly pronounced in core currency deals, with deals from other currencies forming a larger proportion of the market.

Russian nickel and palladium producer Norilsk Nickel has refinanced an existing facility and in the process has increased the size of the deal and shaved the margins. According to bank lenders, the deal is one of many expected to enter the market by Russian borrowers seeking to obtain more attractive terms amid a drought in activity.

ING was praised for pricing a coupon of 4.875% in what was the only financial institution trade of the week in the euro market. The lender had to brave much tougher market conditions in its second attempt at this bond issue, having pulled its first attempt amid news of its chief executive jumping ship.

ING left its investors bemused on Wednesday, when it decided to pull the additional tier one (AT1) bond it was marketing on the basis of undisclosed information it had received. After the news of its chief executive’s move to UBS quickly became public, the door was left open for the bank to complete the trade.

US bond market tourists poured into high grade euros this week, where tiny concessions and a cheap overall cost of funding saw a string of successful trades.