Intesa Sanpaolo

On Thursday Intesa Sanpaolo become the first Italian bank to issue an unsecured bond since April, but it paid up to do so. It has led the way for the country’s banks in terms of issuance this year, having already printed both the first unsecured bond and the first covered bond since the general election.

Italian companies are enjoying some time in the loan market sun this week, with facilities for Amplifon, Tecnimont and Tages Helios finding solid support from lenders.

Italy’s Tecnimont has agreed a new syndicated loan package totaling €285m from its domestic banking group, with the engineering contractor cutting 25bp off its debt costs.

Electricity network operator Terna has sold the first investment grade corporate bond from an Italian issuer since the formation of the country’s new government and was rewarded with an order book that was more than 5.5 times subscribed, demonstrating an investor base that is open to Italy risk once more. Nigel Owen reports.

Italian electricity network operator Terna sold its first green bond on Monday and was rewarded with an order book that was more than 5.5 times oversubscribed.

Three covered bond deals issued by Italian banks in recent days have elicited a mixed reaction from investors, particularly with respect to their value compated to senior unsecured debt.

Italy’s Atlantia has refinanced an acquisition bridge facility with a €1.75bn five year term loan that was priced well below where the company sold 10 year bonds this time last year.

Intesa Sanpaolo has issued the first Italian covered bond since January, reopening the market with a sizeable deal that is likely to be followed by a number of other Italian issuers.

Ghana Coco Board (Cocobod) has closed the senior syndication of its $1.3bn one year annual pre-export finance facility, with a bank meeting due to be held on Monday, June 25.

A new proposed European Parliament and Council directive aimed at non-EU lenders and non-bank institutions will cause “significant uncertainty and disruption” to the primary and secondary syndicated loan markets, the Loan Market Association has warned.

A move tighter in credit spreads was led by Italian banks on Monday morning, raising hopes that issuers will find room to navigate ‘tricky’ new issue conditions in the euro market this week.

Investors and analysts are assessing Italian banks in light of the fall in their capital ratios resulting from their exposure to sovereign debt.