US ECM looks ahead to 2024

The UK government has announced a plan to sell to retail punters some of the stake in NatWest it acquired during the financial crisis. UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt even referenced the “Tell Sid” campaign, used 37 years ago to promote the privatisation of British Gas, when making his big announcement. Reviving the decades-old idea of discounting shares to engage individual investors sounds reasonable. As does another effort to create in the UK the kind of vibrant retail investor base seen in Hong Kong and the US. Might such a deal even provide a...

Despite no other issuers having yet adopted Nordea’s SLL-linked bond structure, the International Capital Market Association and Loan Market Association have formed a joint taskforce to investigate instruments for refinancing sustainability-linked loans. ICMA, which manages the principles underpinning multiple sustainable finance markets, is also creating a new body to examine “green enabling activities”. The Nordea structure employs use of proceeds bonds to refinance SLLs. It is attractive to banks that have exhausted their eligible assets for...

Germany's decision to pull out of the inflation-linked market may pose a question as to why other sovereigns persist in issuing the product in such a high-rate environment. But with sovereigns convinced of the long-term benefits to their cost of funding and investor diversification, Germany's move is not seen as being representative of a wider disillusion with linkers. The volatility index-linked bonds have shown they can wreak on Germany's interest expenditure and their illiquidity relative to conventional Bunds – given the small percentage of...

Kensington Mortgages has scheduled a roadshow for Gemgarto 2023-1, the specialist lender's first UK RMBS offering since it was acquired by Barclays in 2022. The company is offering a range of mezzanine risk, having pre-placed the most junior tranches in advance. The news is not as exciting for fans of Kensington's senior notes, however, as those will be held by Barclays. The issuer is available for calls from Monday and is aiming to price the £573.4m static deal later the same week. Barclays is acting as arranger, lead manager and sponsor. When...

LendInvest enjoyed strong support for the senior and mezzanine notes of its latest UK buy-to-let RMBS, Mortimer BTL 2023-1, allowing the leads to tighten pricing across the capital stack. The senior notes were priced on Wednesday at 117bp over Sonia, one basis point inside the last UK BTL deal, after they were roughly 1.6 times subscribed. "The bookbuilding was pretty strong," said an ABS trader, who described market conditions as constructive. "It showed there is appetite for senior and mezz." A banker away from the deal agreed, though he...

Andrew Menzies has been promoted to global head of debt capital markets at Societe Generale, adding to his role as head of DCM for corporates. He replaces Felix Orsini, who is taking on a new role within Ayvens, SG's rebranded car leasing unit. Menzies is based in London and joined SG in 2003, and has led DCM for corporates since 2017. He ran the Europe and UK corporate DCM teams before moving to New York in 2014 to head DCM for the Americas. KeyBanc Capital Markets named Michael Turits as managing director in its technology investment...

Seplat Energy's bonds have rallied since the start of the month, the boost coming after the Nigerian company reported its latest results. The yield on the company’s US$650m 7.75% April 2026s has fallen to 12.95% bid, from 15.7% over the course of the month. In spread terms, meanwhile, the bond has tightened to 828bp over Treasuries, compared with 1,096bp on November 1, according to LSEG data. There has been no major positive news flow around the company, although the company did report results at the end of October that were upbeat despite...

LendInvest enjoyed strong support for the senior and mezzanine notes of its latest UK buy-to-let RMBS, Mortimer BTL 2023-1, allowing the leads to tighten pricing across the capital stack. The senior notes priced on Wednesday at 117bp over Sonia, one basis point inside the last UK BTL deal, after they were roughly 1.6 times subscribed. "The bookbuilding was pretty strong," said an ABS trader, who described market conditions as constructive. "It showed there is appetite for senior and mezz." A banker away from the deal agreed, though he suspected...

Together Financial Services has priced Together Asset Backed Securitisation 2023 CRE-1, its fourth securitisation of UK commercial term mortgages. Co-arranger Citigroup will hold the majority of the senior tranche in the form of a loan note, according to the preliminary prospectus, while the remainder of the senior tranche and all mezzanine notes have been pre-placed. The £405m transaction securitises a £388.3m provisional portfolio of loans originated and serviced by Together subsidiaries Together Commercial Finance and Harpmanor. The loans...

Fortress Investment Group is marketing Stresa Securitisation, a deal that will refinance a €158m portfolio of Italian mostly prime and performing owner-occupied mortgage loans originated by BPER Banca (formerly Meliorbanca) and previously securitised in private transactions. Roadshow calls were due to start last Thursday and initial price thoughts and execution are expected to follow as early as this coming week. Natixis (arranger) and SMBC are joint lead managers. "It's a good window, being the only deal currently in the market," said a...

Schneider Electric opted to launch its seven-year convertible bond on Monday morning without pre-sounding – a rare choice – but when your stock has surged by 19% in 18 days, any delay could be costly and so you make your bankers work all weekend. The risk is that without a steady flow of issuance, investors are not on the same page on valuation and the deal may struggle to elicit orders and build momentum. The run up in the share price and high premium (inevitable with a long tenor), plus a high dividend protection threshold meant orders were...

Bicredit Sociedade Financeira de Credito, has issued and retained Bugio Finance No. 1, a simple, transparent and standardised securitisation of Portuguese auto loan receivables, through sole arranger and lead manager BNP Paribas. The deal securitises a static €280m pool of loans originated and serviced by Bicredit, whose main shareholder is Banco Invest with an 81% stake. Bicredit has been originating car loans since 2016, originally booking them on Banco Invest's balance sheet, according to DBRS. In January, this changed when Bicredit was...