Normality redefined: There comes a time when things have been out of kilter with what would generally be construed as normal for so long that they begin to become accepted as ‘just the way it is’. And so it is in the debt markets. Few would claim that conditions are currently normal, although just what that actually means is open to question.
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The IFR Top 250 Borrowers ranking includes all eligible Thomson Reuters league table borrowings in syndicated loans, international bonds, equity-linked bonds and securitisations from May 1 2016 to April 30 2017.
When the ECB announced in 2016 that it was expanding its QE to include purchases of European corporate bonds, the news came as a welcome surprise to issuers. The time has now arrived for the bank to step away from its expansive asset shopping spree. It is likely to retreat from the checkout gracefully, however, so do not expect any taper tantrums.
US dollar-denominated bonds have never been more popular. The asset class has just enjoyed yet another stellar year, benefiting from global demand for dollar debt of all types and stripes. But how long can the party last?
The memory of states having to rescue their banks in 2008 still casts a long shadow over Europe’s financial sector. But the advent of new forms of bail-in-able debt brings European banks a step closer to self-sufficiency, meaning creditors, not taxpayers, will be on the line for future failures.
Reality proving different from the worst of the apprehensions as business carries on regardless.
Sanction concerns and a reliance on local cash serve to cramp Russian issuers’ style.
Taiwan’s bond market has in recent years enjoyed an issuance bonanza in offshore currencies thanks to regulatory change and onshore institutional investor demand. Can it last?
Chinese borrowers are tapping offshore bond investors at a record clip this year, as rising onshore yields and a regulatory clampdown on riskier issuers cause domestic markets to cool.
BAT’s M&A loan financing provided a test of market awareness - a test it passed with ease
Acquisition of Monsanto offers an innovative funder even more scope to get creative.
After a tough year that involved a rating downgrade, a restructuring and numerous tussles with the US Department of Justice, Deutsche Bank is getting its house in order.
Just 18 months ago, many investors were reading Glencore the last rites. But the Anglo-Swiss trader has bounced back, slashing debt and selling assets and, now, embarking on another M&A spree. But has it learned from past mistakes?
Henkel may be best known as the owner of Persil washing powder, but it will forever go down in history in the capital markets as one of the only European corporates that investors were willing to pay for the privilege of lending it money.
Across-the-board investment-grade ratings open up new investor universe for Indonesia.
German government-owned development bank KfW undoubtedly benefited from PSPP, but continued to broaden its investor base and doubled its Green issuance programme.
The Spanish lender has pulled out the stops as it seeks to meet TLAC targets.
ECB QE tapering set to see sovereign’s funding costs rise despite its being the primus inter pares of peripheral eurozone countries.
The Top 250 borrowing period began and ended for Vodafone in the Swiss franc market, which was to prove crucial for its financing activities for the year. But while its forays into the Swiss franc market demonstrated its strategic thinking, the year was also characterised by a number of more opportunistic deals.
Following the emissions scandal in 2015, Volkswagen was locked out of the capital markets. But with a successful €8bn issue in March, the German car manufacturer is back.