UniCredit

Public sector borrowers soaked up huge demand in the euro market on Tuesday including the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which printed its biggest ever 100 year bond despite offering a yield of less than 1%.

BMW set Europe's investment grade corporate bond market off to a flying start for the year on Monday, printing €1.5bn of debt at or inside fair value. A range of borrowers are said to be lining up trades in the German vehicle maker's slipstream.

Public sector borrowers wasted no time in getting back to business in the euro market in 2021 with one live deal and four mandates all hitting screens on Monday as issuers look to take advantage of an almost full trading week and a supportive market to make a dent in their brand new funding programmes.

ING kicked off the financials market in euros on Monday, as the Dutch bank looked to extend out its callable curve at a holding company level, and with minimal new issue premia on offer, a slew of deals is set to follow.

Fitch placed Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) on negative watch on Monday evening, following Moody’s, which postponed its ratings upgrade decision last week, with the Italian bank now expected to face a capital shortfall of up to €1.5bn by the end of next year.

European banks passed a real-life stress test in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic threatened to topple the economy. The experience has improved the standing of subordinated debt, which is becoming more important for issuers and investors alike. Frank Jackman reports.

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

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, has signed €8bn of sustainability-linked syndicated loans, while Italian natural gas distribution company Ascopiave has completed its own deal using the structure.

Iren, the Italian utility, sold a €300m green bond on Thursday, being the only name to brave the markets on the same day as the European Central Bank meeting.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, has signed €8bn of syndicated loans, claiming to be the first large biopharma group to switch its syndicated bank lines to sustainability-linked metrics.

Deutsche Bank is joining the ranks of banks that tie their top managers’ bonuses to sustainability targets, highlighting the fact that there is great variety in how this is done among leading investment banks.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena led a trio of speculative grade Italian banks into the euro bond market this week, as credit investors showed that no issuers were off limit in their increasingly desperate search for yield. Tyler Davies reports.