Ireland

Dublin, Ireland-based Fly Leasing plans to raise a $1.3bn loan to acquire aircraft assets from budget carrier AirAsia.

The European Securities and Markets Authority’s plan to take over approving wholesale debt and asset backed securities prospectuses has flummoxed market participants, who say ESMA has no plan to make the new system work — raising fears that European debt markets will be gummed up by a cumbersome approval process.

SMBC Aviation Capital has swooped into the Asian loan market for a $600m two tranche borrowing.

AerCap Holdings, one of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies, has approached banks for a $600m four year revolver, with three lenders co-ordinating the syndication.

Issuers printed a slew of benchmarks in dollars, euros and sterling last week as the SSA market roared into action. Read on to see whether the first deals of the year won favour with our voters.

Chief executive of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Scott O’Malia on Monday said that the trade body was preparing French and Irish law governed ISDA master agreements to be “ready for all eventualities” in the wake of Brexit.

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Ireland opened 2018 with a €4bn print deemed “spectacular” by a banker away from the deal, who said that it was priced flat to the sovereign’s curve.

The SSA market is off to a typically fast start, with four deals in the market and more expected. However, a newly aggressive tone from members of the European Central Bank governing council could rock the boat.

Ireland is set to become the first SSA borrower of 2018 to print a syndicated bond, picking banks for a benchmark deal to be sold on Wednesday. The German state of Lower Saxony will also come to market on Wednesday.

Ireland is open to the possibility of adding green bonds to its funding mix as it looks to diversify its portfolio of debt instruments, according to the country’s head of funding.

Tullow Oil, the oil company headquartered in London but with operations predominantly in Africa, has signed $2.5bn of reserve-based lending (RBL) facilities to refinance existing deals with its relationship banks.