Scotiabank

Rating: Aa1/AA+

World Bank raised $4.5bn of five year bonds on Tuesday with its first dollar benchmark of the year. Municipality Finance (MuniFin) joined it at the tenor a day later, but this is widely expected to be SSA issuers’ last hurrah in the currency for a few weeks.

Municipality Finance (Muni Fin) printed a $1bn no-grow short five year bond on Wednesday, joining World Bank at the tenor in a dollar market that bankers said has offered something for everyone this week.

Rating: Aa1/—/AAA

Dollar swap spreads tightened dramatically in the middle of the week — with bankers at a loss to explain why — but the SSA sector was still “rock solid” in one syndicate head’s words, so the currency should be open for business next week. The only two dollar trades this week — a bond market return from CDP Financial and first deal of the year from Erste Abwicklungsanstalt — both went well.

Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA)’s decision to forego the price discovery process on its first benchmark of 2019 paid off, as the issuer printed more than its original target for the dollar deal on Tuesday at a level that some SSA bankers away from the deal said may have been slightly through its secondary curve.

Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) looks set to have the dollar market to itself on Tuesday with its first benchmark of the year, and is foregoing the price discovery process.

The UK’s BB Healthcare Trust has amended its revolving credit facility, with the healthcare equity investment trust switching the base currency of its bank debt from sterling to dollars.

The new-look Fox Corp made its dollar bond debut this week as the technical backdrop in the investment grade continued to improve with tightening spreads and thinner new issue concessions.

There has been precious little cheer in the dollar market but Anheuser Busch Inbev (AB InBev) provided some on Thursday when it printed the biggest corporate investment grade trade since October amid signs of improving sentiment.

Four borrowers piled into the dollar bond market on Thursday, adding to one of the busiest weeks of the year despite tough market conditions. UK telecoms company BT led the charge with a $1.35bn two-part deal.

Duke Energy Corp became the latest US utility to issue green bonds last week, when it priced a $1bn dual tranche offering.