Spain

Sovereign debt officials praised the role primary dealers played during the volatility that hit eurozone government debt markets in the second quarter, though some still feel the system is “not ideal”.

Spanish electricity utility Iberdrola has been one of the leading corporate issuers of green bonds and, on Thursday, it took its total green issuance to more than €7bn with its latest offering.

Terms have been set on the £1bn rights issue of DS Smith, the UK packaging company, to fund its acquisition of Spanish rival Europac.

Those who invested in failed Spanish lender Banco Popular will have a right to be heard before the EU authority publishes the final assessment of the bank’s value next month, the Single Resolution Board (SRB) said this week.

Rating: A3/A+/A-

The Basque Government this week gave one of the best signs that investor worries about Italy’s political situation are unlikely to spill over to other countries as it printed a three times subscribed debut sustainability bond.

Cajamar Caja Rural found good demand for a €500m five year Cédulas on Thursday, suggesting that investors are differentiating between Spanish and Italian bank risk, and with a further spread widening anticipated, peripheral issuers have every incentive to consider follow-on deals.

The Basque Government’s return to bond markets on Tuesday after a more than two year absence suggested that investors are not duly concerned about Spain being caught up in volatility last week, with orders ploughing into the debut sustainable bond issue.

The Basque Government will bring the first real test of investor appetite for Spanish public sector risk since a wave of Italy-led volatility hit the eurozone periphery last week, as it opened proceedings on an inaugural sustainable bond — its first issue of any kind in over two years.

The International Capital Market Association chose its 50th anniversary AGM to appoint its first ever female chair to lead its board and oversee how the association determines best practices for the capital markets.

An escalation of political risk in Italy has rattled investors, substantially increasing hedging activity this week as concerns ramped up about the future of the eurozone.

Talos Capital reduced the size of its stake in Aena, the Spanish state-owned aiport operator, through a €696m accelerated bookbuild led by UBS and Citigroup on Tuesday.