LBBW

German electricity transmission firm Amprion launched Schuldschein and Namensschuldverschreibungen (NSV) notes on Wednesday, becoming the first borrower to launch a deal into the market this month. Bankers are gearing up for a busy fourth quarter.

The European Financial Stability Facility mandated banks on Monday to lead a euro dual tranche transaction in what could be the issuer’s first and final outing of the fourth quarter.

Green, social and sustainable issuance has dominated the supranational and agency bond market for a whole month, consistently outpacing conventional supply. That trend looks set to continue with three SRI deals already on screens.

The sustainability-linked debt structure, which has already spread from the loan market to corporate bonds, has made its first appearance in a convertible bond, with a deal by Dürr. CB specialists expect it will take root in that asset class too. Jon Hay and Aidan Gregory report.

Bank Nederlandse Gementeen kicked off a busy week for socially responsible bond issuance by public sector borrowers with a well-received 12 year sustainable bond, its longest ever deal in that format.

The City of Bremen was heavily undersubscribed as it came to the market with an eight year bond on Thursday, in what is the region’s second consecutive public deal that has failed to reach full subscription.

Schott, the German glass company, has refinanced a five year revolving credit facility with a three year deal, amid a push from lenders to reduce the maturity of their loan portfolios.

After a week without deals, the primary euro public sector bond market will see a return of activity next week with Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia preparing to bring sustainable deals in the currency.

Two public sector borrowers managed to get euro deals done in the primary market ahead of the European Central Bank’s governing council meeting on Thursday, with World Bank issuing its biggest ever bond in euros longer than 10 years and Hamburg comfortably crossing the line despite an embarrassing start to the execution process.

The City of Hamburg began taking indications of interest with initial price thoughts for a 30 year bond on Wednesday afternoon ahead of schedule after one of the leads accidentally sent out a message announcing the official opening of order books.

Commerzbank did not pay a premium to launch its new additional tier one (AT1) this week, as it found strong demand at the long end of the curve. The bank was returning to the market just three months after its last deal in the format.

All eyes in the primary euro public sector bond market are fixed on the expected arrival of Germany's green Bund this week, but there were still some other deals announced on Tuesday. Greece is sticking to its plan for a syndicated bond issuance every quarter and Berlin hopes to match the success of its compatriot Land NRW in the 30 year part of the curve.