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Riding to the rescue:
Covid-19 was the single greatest contributing factor to record-breaking SSAR supply in 2020, causing significant revisions to the funding plans of many issuers, none more so than the European Union. The outbreak of the pandemic and subsequent response saw the supranational leap from second-tier issuer to bond market colossus, smashing demand records along the way. The EU is IFR’s SSAR Issuer of the Year.
Righting the ship
Should it succeed in charting a course to the promised land, Deutsche Bank may point to 2020 as the year in which it began to right the ship. For bringing investors on board that journey while navigating turbulent waters, Deutsche Bank is IFR’s Financial Issuer of the Year.
Facing down twin threats
BP was faced in 2020 with the pandemic and a collapse in oil prices. It responded through an ambitious strategy that included a ground-breaking credit facility and a record-breaking hybrid bond. Those deals meant that it shored up its liquidity and balance sheet against any further threats. BP is IFR’s Corporate Issuer of the Year, while its US$11.9bn-equivalent five-tranche hybrid is Europe Investment-Grade Corporate Bond of the Year.
Pushing harder in a crisis
Enel continued to blaze a trail for sustainable finance in 2020 by adding a new range of financing instruments to its sustainability-linked philosophy and providing powerful advocacy for the asset class that it helped to create. For showing how it’s done in style in a crisis – and for the second year running – Enel is IFR’s Sustainable Issuer of the Year.
Refis and exchanges
For pushing the boundaries of what is possible in a refinancing package at a time when companies are eager to retire high-coupon debt and replace it with new low-cost bonds, AT&T’s US$21.5bn bond exchange is IFR’s Financing Package of the year.
Plugging the hole
When the pandemic left its operations listing and without a port of call, Carnival turned to a US$6.6bn multi-asset class funding package that didn’t just keep the company afloat but met with a rapturous response. It is IFR’s Pandemic Response Financing of the Year.
The Shanghai Star Market has been a shining success since its launch in 2019. Global investors and investment banks are paying close attention.
After a slump in international issuance in 2020, fresh thinking may be needed to restore the appeal of the Japanese yen as a global funding currency. Japanese banks should also make another effort to get local investors to fund lower-rated issuers.
Travel restrictions and social distancing as a result of the coronavirus crisis transformed investment banking in 2020, introducing a more efficient, more flexible way of working. Asia-Pacific was the first region to go into the crisis and in some ways is the furthest through it. As health concerns begin to ease, does the region’s experience suggest that changes will stick?
Despite the best efforts of the Trump administration and a less-than-supportive regulatory climate, the ESG financing market in the US still managed to move forward in 2020. US ESG financing lags behind much of the rest of the world (Europe in particular) but a greener administration in the US will add momentum to efforts to harness financial markets to address climate change and other social ills.
With increased attention on the ESG sector, the second-party opinion providers have come under greater scrutiny from regulators and the maturing of the sector should lead to greater transparency and harmonisation.
Covid-19 was a major distraction for everyone in 2020, including those in the midst of the huge task of transitioning Libor to a new set of risk-free rates. Nevertheless, at the end of December 2021, Libor as we know it – for all but some important US dollar benchmarks – will be no more.
