Rabobank

Dutch port operator Royal Boskalis Westminster has refinanced a €500m revolving credit facility, as analysts warn that the coronavirus pandemic could see world trade plunge by as much as 34%.

UniCredit has said that it will redeem €2.5bn of tier two capital next month, with regulators allowing banks to manage their debt capital stacks freely during the coronavirus crisis.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will prevent its financial institutions from redeeming subordinated bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, putting itself in contrast with other parts of the world, where banks remain free to manage their debt capital as they see fit.

Turkey’s Akbank has refinanced a syndicated loan with tighter margins than its existing facility, as lenders demonstrate unwavering appetite for Turkish debt.

The Bank of England threatened to use its ‘supervisory powers’ on UK banks if they did not agree to suspend dividend distributions this year and stop paying cash bonuses to staff. The instructions do not apply to the equity-like CCDS instruments issued by building societies.

The primary corporate bond market in Europe threw up another blistering day on Wednesday, with seven issuers on screens by mid-morning, bringing the number of deals so far this week to 18, though bond syndicate desks are hesitant to compare this crisis market with the record-breaking issuance in 2009.

Market participants are debating whether the risks to additional tier one coupons have risen or fallen after the European Central Bank urged banks not to pay equity dividends for at least six months.

Bank of America reopened the market for financial institution bonds in euros this week and was followed by a slew of other deals as investors welcomed wider spreads and new issue concessions.

New senior bank bonds are proving attractive to investors at about 40bp-50bp or more over secondary levels, with UK issuers Lloyds and HSBC joining US peers in returning to the new issue market this week.

European banks are steering well clear of new issue markets during the coronavirus pandemic, avoiding having to call on investors for funding by taking advantage of attractive central bank funding schemes.

Could EU member states finally come together to issue a common debt instrument? In this article, GlobalCapital takes a look at the key issues.

FIG DCM officials say it is impossible to tell when banks could return to selling unsecured debt, with markets locked in a period of extreme volatility and uncertainty.