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Market participants expect European consumer ABS spreads to remain flat or tighten in 2021, despite the potential for these deals to reflect economic stresses and rising unemployment, according to CSC and GlobalCapital’s annual securitization pulse survey.

2020 was an extraordinary year. It was period many would rather forget in their personal lives, but a year of outsize returns in pockets of securitized products. It was also a year that turned the outlook for securitization on its head.

GlobalCapital and HSBC hosted a virtual roundtable in mid-January to discuss the blowout start to high yield bond issuance in 2021. Leading market experts highlighted how Asia’s debt markets have shifted — and how borrowers are positioning themselves for the rest of the year.

Throughout these uncertain times, UniCredit is providing a point of reference for the CEE, thanks to our strong commitment to supporting clients and the region.

UniCredit’s Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) division was aware of the threat of Covid-19 early on, and took decisive measures to mitigate its impact.

Jason Channell, Head of Sustainable Finance, Citi Global Insights examines the broad understanding of environmental, social and governance factors, how these have become a mainstream economic concern, and how sustainability policy is impacting supply chain finance.

RBI follows a “profit-with-purpose” business model with explicit alignment of its activities with social, environmental and economic responsibility. We help develop sustainable economies and support our customers’ transition to zero carbon activities.

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.

The damage caused by hurricanes Eta and Iota, which slammed into the Central American states at the end of November, caused widespread damage and further misery to millions in countries that were already suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Raiffeisen Bank International’s clients are increasingly looking to achieve more sustainable, fairer and more transparent ways of doing business. In this context, RBI maintains a comprehensive dialogue with an ever-increasing pool of clients on sustainable finance, e.g. bonds, loans and Schuldscheine. We focus our attention not only on “green”, but also cover sustainability-linked instruments, a rapidly growing area in the sustainable finance universe.

The current global health crisis has surfaced an important discussion around the connection between sustainability and the broader issues weighing on our society. So, if we take one lesson away from these intersecting crises, it is that our physical and economic health, our sustainability and resiliency, and social justice are inextricably linked.

By Jana Hecker, Global Head of Equity Capital Markets, UniCredit

During last January’s conference in Vienna, we felt that sentiment around CEE was mostly optimistic, but — to be frank — slightly unenthusiastic. It seemed as though everybody was expecting another solid, but ordinary year ahead. The news about the novel coronavirus in China was very distant.

Since 2018, Raiffeisen Bank International has issued several green bonds. Targeting private and institutional investors, the bonds support the growth of green financing at RBI’s headquarters and across its subsidiary banks in CEE, thereby facilitating a reduction of more than 60,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. This corresponds to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 13,000 cars or almost 7,000 households.

European green bond issuance has significantly outpaced that in other regions over the last four years and in 2020 the European Union is set to be responsible for more than 50% of global green bond issues (sources: S&P Ratings, Climate Bond Initiative).

Film buffs recognise that sometimes a sequel can be better than the original. Perhaps it does not have the same novelty, but scriptwriters can move on from establishing the back story to delivering a movie with wider appeal.

Covid-19 has not put the brakes on deal-making in the European telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) sector and we expect M&A activity to continue. As such, we view the nuances of change of control (CoC) language in deal documents as important. By CreditSights.

The European Union’s new green grammar book is multiplying the impact of climate finance. From funding to lending to innovation, the EU Taxonomy is helping embed climate throughout the European Investment Bank’s activities.

Amid exceptionally challenging global conditions, Egypt’s largest private sector bank revealed resilient performance in 2020, delivering top-line growth.

The European Investment Bank isn’t letting the Covid-19 pandemic divert it from its common purpose, but is focusing it more clearly than ever on the development sphere.

The European Investment Bank took a bold step when it announced in November last year that it would end funding for fossil fuel projects, alongside a slew of ambitious targets. This year has been about putting in place the roadmap for its transformation

The last six months have been unprecedented times for the global capital markets, and securitization has not been spared the volatility. In both the US and Europe, structured finance sectors have had to navigate worsening economic conditions, widening spreads and a deeply uncertain outlook for the rest of 2020 and beyond. With the help of central bank and government support measures, the worst of the crisis may have been avoided, but securitization may also have a role to play in the coming recovery. GlobalCapital spoke with Ocorian’s Sonal Patel and Sinead McIntosh on the outlook for capital markets, the state of securitization and the prospects for 2021.

It has been a year of tumult in the capital markets but you would not know that from examining the results of the European Investment Bank’s funding programme in 2020 and comparing it to 2019.

The pandemic has been a time of immense difficulty for financial markets globally. The period of stress in the corporate sector has led to intense stress on economies large and small and the recovery following the 2020 coronavirus crisis will be long. But will also be a window of opportunity for market players. This is particularly true of the structured finance market, which may have a significant role to play in helping to clean up after a period of unprecedented distress. GlobalCapital and Vistra gathered a roundtable of market experts to discuss the state of securitization sectors in Europe, Asia and the US and the role of the product helping the market get back on its feet following months of pandemic stress.

With countries beginning to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, Navita Yadav, Vistra’s Global Head of Capital Markets, assesses the pandemic’s impact and examines what might lie ahead from a capital market perspective.

When the European Parliament voted to approve the EU Taxonomy Regulation on June 18 — the final step in the Regulation’s legislative journey to providing the foundation for sustainable finance in Europe — more than just a glass was raised at the European Investment Bank. The issuer took the opportunity to issue a new Climate Awareness Bond (CAB) and announce the extension of CABs to two new project areas that substantially contribute to climate change mitigation.

The period since March has been a turbulent time for financial markets, and the CLO sector in Europe dealt with a complex set of disruptions when the pandemic arrived this spring. From sudden and acute stress at the corporate level to an unprecedented shift in working conditions, CLO players in Europe experienced more uncertainty that hasn’t been seen since the last crisis. Yet, the market has adapted, and while the shape and size of deals may be different, CLOs in Europe are pushing ahead. BNY Mellon and GlobalCapital gathered a variety of market experts to discuss the present state and future prospects of the European CLO market.