Société Générale

In a rare sign that environmental campaigners are having an impact on the financial industry, the burden of financing the Ecuadorian Amazon oil trade has shifted between banks in the past six months. But it is clear the banking industry is supporting the trade in more ways than have yet been uncovered.

Europe’s corporate bond investors had the chance to pick up some paper from the riskier end of their credit spectrum as the week began, with Portuguese power company Energias de Portugal (EDP) and Swedish housing firm Heimstaden Bostad out with hybrid capital issues.

At this year’s Central & Eastern European Forum, Société Générale hosted the workshop titled ‘CEE central banks’ balance sheet expansion: a necessity or a risk?’. The speakers were Radoslaw Cholewinski (deputy head of fixed income at Pekao TFI), Martin Dolejs (portfolio manager, pension fund and insurance portfolios at Allianz), and Zoltan Aroksallasi (FX and rate strategist at Erste Bank), and I thank them for their insight, their knowledge, and their time. By Marek Drimal, EMEA Strategist, moderator of the workshop.

La Banque Postale (LBP) sold €500m of tier two paper this week, marking the normally rare issuer’s second sale in the format in just over three months.

Solid demand from investors for Woori Bank's sustainable bond on Monday allowed the South Korean borrower to price its $550m deal at an ultra-tight spread.

Europe’s corporate bond investors had the chance to pick up some paper from the hairier end of their credit spectrum as this week began, with Portuguese power company Energias de Portugal and Swedish housing firm Heimstaden Bostad out with hybrid capital issues.

The covered bond market bounced back from last week’s temporary supply indigestion on Monday, following strong deal outcomes for DZ Hyp and Société Générale, which issued the tightest French transaction of the year.

Altitude Infrastructure, the French telecoms company, has signed a €266m credit facility, which it will use for two fibre optic networks.

Companies in the same sector often copy each other, but this year's string of bond issues by aircraft lessors has been exceptional, and is prompted by the sector's credit rehabilitation. Air Lease Corp took the recovery past a new milestone this week.

Rating: Aa2/AA/AA

Swiss franc bond investors are pursuing high quality issues, with Münchener Hypothekenbank harnessing this demand to price a tap of its green preferred senior bond 12bp through fair value this week.

A trio of European corporate issuers brought bond deals on Thursday, shrugging off the potential distraction of a European Central Bank meeting.