Japan

Credit Suisse has named Makoto Kuwahara as chief executive officer for Japan, effective in November.

Japan telecoms company SoftBank took another step towards its flotation this week by replacing its intergroup credit with a double-B rated leveraged loan. This followed a high-yield bond sale in April with the same purpose.

The Republic of the Philippines attracted more investor demand than expected on its return after eight years to the Japanese yen bond market. Its outstanding dollar bonds outperformed in secondary trading as the new deal was being marketed.

A new dawn has broken for RMB business in Japan, as the country prepares to launch its first RMB clearing bank and a local currency swap line with China. For now bankers are focusing on new renminbi investment quotas, which could mobilise the vast pool of Japanese household assets to tap onshore Chinese securities.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group came to the market on Tuesday with a senior deal that it originally announced in May. Meanwhile, Investec and Fidelidade were consulting on subordinated deals.

Guarantor: Japan

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) raised $3.5bn from a triple-tranche bond deal in its first outing in the dollar market since November.

The European Investment Bank is set to bring the first five year dollar benchmark from an SSA in nearly three weeks — and only the third since the first quarter — after mandating banks on Monday. The issuer will be joined by a triple tranche trade from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

BPCE was active in the Samurai market this week, selling ¥119.5bn ($1.08bn) of notes, the vast majority of which were in the senior non-preferred format and will be used to finance eligible social loans. The French bank is also drafting a new framework for green bonds and two types of social bond.

Crédit Agricole has sold a Samurai bond to retail buyers, marking the first time it has participated in that market. It is in the tier two format, despite European regulators’ concern that non-institutional investors holding bank capital could prevent the effective resolution of institutions.

Investment company AllianceBernstein says it is focused on the development of the AT1 market beyond the large European banks, as it launched a new financials fund.

The board of directors of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has renewed the contract of chief executive Charles Li for three years.