Rabobank

Debt capital markets bankers say that smaller pricing steps are possible when selling deals on a yield basis, after bookrunners made a 7.5bp move with National Bank of Greece’s green deal this week.

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.

Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale is set to return to the social bond market in euros after setting the size record for the format in the currency earlier this month — a feat it also recently achieved in the dollar market.

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.

Commodities company Mercuria has returned for its annual borrowing of $980m. This time, it is enticing banks with a 10bp Covid-19 premium on the loan margin and fees.

Rabobank has issued its largest green bond, a day after publishing a new Sustainable Funding Framework that will enable it to print debt in four different green and social flavours — a structure it hopes will give investors more clarity.

Fitch cut the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of ABN Amro and Rabobank this week, with a rise in risk-weighted assets having helped to push down the size of the banks’ subordinated bond buffers.

Banco BPM struggled to build much of an order book behind a new tier two bond this week, with bankers arguing that investors have become more selective with their exposures to southern European names.

KPN, the Dutch telecommunications company, made its first outing in the senior bond market for four years on Monday. One lead manager expected the trade to give the issuer’s curve a strong lift.

Singaporean commodities company Mercuria has returned to the offshore loan market for its annual foray.

Royal Schiphol, the Dutch airport operator, brought a dual tranche conventional and green bond with a small to flat new issue premium on Tuesday. The issuer opted to make the longer 12 year tranche green, which bankers say is indicative of lengthening maturities in the typically mid-tenor corporate green bond market.

Senior deals from Banco de Sabadell and Mediobanca underlined the pricing benefits of printing in green formats this week, with both coming inside conventional curves. Other issuers could be tempted to follow.