Intesa Sanpaolo

GlobalCapital announces the results of its Equity Capital Markets Awards for 2015, following our inaugural ECM Awards Dinner, in London on March 16.

Bulgarian Energy Holding has picked lead banks for its €650m loan, after taking six months and being downgraded during the arranging process.

Two of Italy’s popolari banks have registered to be listed on the Italian stock exchange and, with two others entering advanced merger talks on Tuesday, the country finally looks to be making headway on the banking reforms passed last year.

Coal is about the most basic commodity. It has become deeply unfashionable in recent years, tarred as the worst culprit in global warming. The charge may be true, but the accusations are so vehement partly because promoters of other hydrocarbons — oil, gas, biofuels — want to disguise their own responsibility.

The Russian loan market has brought its first dollar deal of the year with Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) signing a long-awaited $1bn pre-export finance facility. The deal is its first syndicated loan since January 2014 and exceeds the size of any Russian loan of 2015.

By the second day of Saipem’s auction of its unsold rights, all of them had been sold to investors — but with the share price still 3.3% below the subscription price at Thursday's close, the underwriters may yet have to buy up to €427m of stock.

Saipem, the Italian oil and gas engineering group, announced late on Thursday evening an 87.8% take-up for its €3.5bn rights issue, leaving the underwriters potentially on the hook for up to €427m. In a concerning sign, the shares were suspended on Friday after falling 11%, though they have recovered to 6% down.

Sociedade Nacional De Combustíveis De Angola (Sonangol) has completed a lengthy loan syndication for a $1bn five year loan, with Chinese banks taking big tickets, according to a banker on the deal.

An investor reappraisal of additional tier one paper left the asset class trading at unprecedented lows on Monday, forcing Deutsche Bank to reassure the market of its ability to pay its coupons.

Last year the Markit iBoxx Euro Banks index was one of the outperforming bond sectors in Europe having returned 1%. The index, which is largely made up of bonds issued by European banks, even managed to outperform defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities, while Europe’s regulatory oversight and relaxed monetary conditions kept market confidence in check.

The economies of Italy and China do not appear to have much in common. Italy’s government would welcome a GDP growth rate of 1%, while China expands at less than 7% and investors take flight. One is a sclerotic, decaying Western country, the other is a dynamic Asian tiger. Such is the conventional wisdom.

The Italian subordinated debt market has come under further pressure this week, with spreads shooting wider amid renewed concerns about banks’ high levels of non-performing loans.