Swedbank

Swedish issuer Kommuninvest is preparing to launch its first deal of 2020 — a five year Swedish krona note.

Denmark's Torm has signed $496m of bank loans, as new regulations affecting the global shipping industry take hold.

Sweden’s Swedavia, an airport operator, has printed a Skr1bn (€94m) green bond, the issuer’s debut outing in the sustainable bond market.

Three companies piled into the euro bond market on Monday, but the deals drew mixed reactions. Two standard investment grade issues from LafargeHolcim and Ford Motor Credit appeared to fare better than a rare green hybrid from Citycon paying a juicy yield.

The positive market backdrop has driven smaller and less well-known bank issuers to come forward with rare new bond issues. But they are showing up just as investors pack up for the year, meaning they must work hard to lure enough demand, writes David Freitas.

Dekabank was quick to launch a preferred senior bond on Thursday, garnering 2.5 times the demand it needed for its €500m print by mid-morning in London. The German lender only ended up paying a small new issue premium to its investors.

National Express and Citycon mandated banks on Thursday for bond issues, piling into the November issuance spree before the market goes into hibernation next month.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) got away without having to pay any sort of a premium for its debut non-preferred senior bond on Monday, despite having to compete for attention with Nordic peer OP Corporate Bank.

The Swedish krona MTN market’s bumper year received a further boost as nuclear power plant operator Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) returned to the MTN market for the first time in five years to place a pair of notes in the currency. However, the return may be short lived, as TVO has plenty of access to cash and will take an opportunistic approach to future issuance.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) refrained from pushing into record territory with the coupon on its new dollar-denominated AT1 on Tuesday, as European banks begin testing new lows for yields in the asset class.

The financial institutions bond market has absorbed an enormous volume of supply over the past month, putting a strain on trading levels for outstanding securities. FIG bankers nonetheless expect that spreads could start to tighten once more in the coming weeks, amid a calmer flow of new issuance.

Swedbank and UniCredit got away with paying small new issue premiums for senior bonds this week, after utilising an extremely favourable backdrop for issuers in the euro market.