Rabobank

The European Central Bank failed to cheer bank debt investors with a stimulus package at the end of a difficult week that saw credit spreads soar. However, some analysts think that the ECB offered more than was immediately apparent, with its moves amounting to €800bn of capital relief.

Spreads on bank bonds were sent shooting wider again on Thursday, caught up in further negative news around the Covid-19. But market participants are still unsure about how much of impact the pandemic will have on bank credit quality, with the sector already facing pressures over profitability.

Volatility in the financial institutions bond market drove spreads even wider on Monday as a crash in the price of oil added to fears over the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. It was enough to close the primary bond market for the foreseeable future, said market participants.

Relx, the UK specialist publisher, reopened the European corporate bond market on Tuesday after more than a week without any benchmark issuance. It was a convincing €2bn issue, but Relx had to pay double digit new issue premiums.

Conditions are changing so fast with the coronavirus epidemic that each day could bring a change in sentiment, but for the time being leveraged finance is staying calm and continuing to function. There is more activity in this high risk corner of Europe’s capital markets than in any other, apart from sovereign, supranational and agency bonds.

Paccar Financial, the leasing arm of Paccar, the US maker of DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks, braved the European market on Wednesday to print a sub-benchmark sized bond, as syndicate officials said the market could move wider.

Investors flocked to Indian credits on Thursday, as UPL Corp and Muthoot Finance sealed new dollar bonds in a busy market.

ING left its investors bemused on Wednesday, when it decided to pull the additional tier one (AT1) bond it was marketing on the basis of undisclosed information it had received. After the news of its chief executive’s move to UBS quickly became public, the door was left open for the bank to complete the trade.

Intesa Sanpaolo chose to split an additional tier one (AT1) deal into two tranches on Thursday, with one eye on the secondary performance of the bonds and the other on the maturity profile of its debt capital stock.

International bond volumes from India so far this year have almost doubled from the same period in 2019, showing the strength of the country’s issuers as they continue to emerge from a turbulent period. Debt bankers are optimistic that India is set for a strong 2020, writes Morgan Davis.

Relx Finance, the funding arm of UK specialist publisher Relx, has hired banks to arrange a roadshow for a triple tranche bond sale, with maturities out as far as 12 years.

Banca IFIS sold a senior bond this week, as Italian bank bond spreads rallied following Intesa Sanpaolo’s takeover bid for UBI Banca.