Commerzbank’s chief executive Bettina Orlopp said she didn’t understand the logic behind UniCredit’s surprise low-premium €35bn offer for the bank, which her Italian counterpart Andrea Orcel outlined on Monday.

At least two entities affiliated with the failed bridge loan provider Market Financial Solutions were not audited, according to a source close to the situation, further complicating debt recovery at the London-based lender, which is alleged to have double pledged a large portion of its over £2bn in loans.

China is restricting some overseas-incorporated Chinese companies from listing in Hong Kong unless they unwind their so-called red-chip structure, according to the Chinese securities regulator.

(Reuters) - India's HDFC Bank said late on Wednesday its part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty has resigned citing differences with the lender over "values and ethics", sending its US-listed shares sharply lower.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's DCM and syndicate desks will have breathed a collective sigh of relief after securing a place on a semi-government ticket for the first time in almost two years.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries unveiled a unique sustainable finance framework on Monday, with the aim of reducing emissions across its supply chain.

Mid-size SSA names have kept the primary market busy this week as larger and smaller peers mostly wait for what they hope will be a simpler backdrop in which to issue, bankers report.

Waters stepped into the US high-grade market with a rare bond sale on Tuesday as the lab equipment and software provider sought funding to back its merger with Becton Dickinson’s biosciences and diagnostic solutions businesses. 

It was supposed to be the year of the CLO. But first software names that populated many of the underlying assets were hit by AI disruption fears, and then the Middle East war kicked off – freezing activity in the sector.

The US asset-backed primary is pushing ahead as funding conditions remain favorable despite ongoing volatility driven by the war between Iran and the US and Israel.

Two specialist UK mortgage lenders, Enra and Paratus AMC, have reopened the RMBS market following volatility from the war in Iran causing a hiatus.

Switch and MetroNet returned to the US asset-backed primary market last week as digital infrastructure funding surges across credit markets. 

Kawasaki Heavy Industries unveiled a unique sustainable finance framework on Monday, with the aim of reducing emissions across its supply chain.

The UK’s strategy for its pioneering retail sovereign green bonds – a world-first at launch back in 2021 – has become even more uncertain with Tuesday’s launch of the first new green Gilt to incorporate a retail offer .

Amundi's sustainability profile is helping to win more institutional mandates as asset owners seek to manage climate-related risks and their transition exposure. 

London Stock Exchange Group's new set of ESG scores and sustainability analytics aims to make data more transparent and comparable, and easier for global financial markets to use and analyse in preparation for greater automation. 

Reliance Industries-owned Jio Platforms has hired 17 banks for its IPO and plans to file it as early as the end of this month, people with knowledge of the transaction said.

Responding to strong investor demand, Janus Living now plans to close the order books on its up to US$740m NYSE IPO at 4:00pm Wednesday, accelerating the cutoff time from noon on Thursday.

China is restricting some overseas-incorporated Chinese companies from listing in Hong Kong unless they unwind their so-called red-chip structure, according to the Chinese securities regulator.

Nebius Group returned to the equity-linked market on Tuesday to raise US$3.75bn from five and seven-year convertible bonds, bolstering funding for a massive capex program a day after it signed a US$27bn AI infrastructure agreement with Meta Platforms.

A US$7.15bn debt package backing private equity firm CD&R’s buyout of packaging company Sealed Air is expected to launch imminently, according to sources.

Singapore-based Olam Food Ingredients, a subsidiary of Olam Group, has obtained a €1.1bn (US$1.62bn) borrowing, its first euro-denominated syndicated loan facility, from 11 banks.

It was supposed to be the year of the CLO. But first software names that populated many of the underlying assets were hit by AI disruption fears, and then the Middle East war kicked off – freezing activity in the sector.

Investment banks continue to expect strong first-quarter revenues. On Tuesday, Citigroup guided to mid-teens year-on-year growth in investment banking and markets revenues, and Bank of America guided to double-digit growth for both business lines. A few weeks ago, JP Morgan provided a similar upbeat message.

A dramatic but little appreciated rise in the volume of equity total return swaps is being accompanied by an erosion in the margins charged by bank prime finance desks to clients such as hedge funds.

The collapse of Market Financial Solutions follows a familiar and concerning pattern. According to documents submitted to London’s High Court at the commencement of its administration process, MFS may have double-pledged assets, potentially leaving a collateral shortfall of £930m. Loans to MFS totalled £1.16bn, and there was only £230m of “true value” available in the collateral accounts.

It is unbecoming to say “I told you so”, but when it comes to Meta Platforms’ US$27.3bn project bond to fund its Hyperion data centre via private credit shop Blue Owl Capital (and SPV Beignet Investor) the temptation is strong. I wrote in late 2025 that Meta’s decision not to consolidate the debt on its balance sheet sits uneasily with the economic risk that investors have assumed they are taking when they bought the deal in October. And now Meta’s auditor, EY, clearly feels this same tension.