The Netherlands

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever has become known in the corporate bond markets for its multiple tranche deals. On Monday it announced its third such trade in the last three years and investors showed they still have plenty of appetite for the name, helping the company print its largest ever deal.

Two weeks after rating agency S&P softened its stance on the early refinancing of hybrid instruments, Dutch energy distributor Alliander became the first issuer to take advantage when it sold a successful hybrid deal alongside a tender offer for a hybrid bond it issued just over four years ago.

Rabobank has priced a Rmb500m ($79m) offshore renminbi bond, taking advantage of a favourable CNH cross-currency swap rate. But despite the gradual pick-up in dim sum activity, the market is divided over whether the asset class will maintain its momentum.

Rabobank returned to the covered bond market on Tuesday to issue the tightest €1bn-plus sized triple-A rated 10 year since the crisis.

Private equity firm 3i is taking advantage of bullish conditions in the leveraged loan market to launch its fifth dividend recapitalisation of Action, the Dutch non-food discount retailer it bought in 2011.

Following an investor call on Monday, Dutch energy distributor Alliander received overwhelming support on Tuesday for a new €500m hybrid bond issued alongside a tender offer for its existing €500m 3.25% hybrid. The final order book was more than €3.5bn.

Dutch energy distributor Alliander announced plans for a new euro hybrid on Monday, alongside a tender offer for the company’s outstanding hybrid. The issuer’s ratings could allow it to set a new low for the product's pricing.

The closest things to European corporate bond issues in euros on Thursday were a €200m sole-led issue for Deutsche Telekom, reported by Dealogic, and a €500m floater for LeasePlan, the Dutch car leasing bank.

NIBC, Raiffeisenlandesbank NiederÖsterreich-Wien (RLB NW) and BayernLB were easily able to sell 10 year covered bonds issued this week, thanks to their small size and European Central Bank demand.

NIBC and Raiffeisenlandesbank NiederÖsterreich-Wien (RLB NW) found solid demand for their pair of €500m 10 year covered bonds issued on Tuesday. But with the tighter Austrian deal extracting more demand at a tighter spread, investors clearly showed a preference for the hard bullet maturity.

BayernLB has issued the first of three 10 year covered bonds to be priced this week. With the European Central Bank stepping up its presence in the primary market compared to January 2017, forthcoming deals from NIBC and Raiffeisenlandesbank NiederÖsterreich-Wien (RLB NW) are assured of a smooth execution.

Issuers printed a slew of benchmarks in dollars, euros and sterling last week as the SSA market roared into action. Read on to see whether the first deals of the year won favour with our voters.