!CCORDINGûTOû)#%û"!-,ûDATA ûTHEYûHADû
widened to Treasuries plus 135bp by last
-ONDAYû
ûBPûWIDERûOVERûTHEûPREVIOUSûû
DAYS ûINCLUDINGûAûBPûJUMPûONû&RIDAYû-AYû
31.
“These volatile markets are never green
lights for issuance, but at the same time
spreads haven’t really been annihilated, it’s
been pretty orderly for the amount of
volatility we’ve seen and for the decline in
rates,” said Scott Kimball, portfolio manager
WITHû"-/Sû4APLIN û#ANIDAûANDû(ABACHT
h7EûALREADYûHADûLIGHTûESTIMATESûFORûTHEû
week but you’ll see some issuers test the
market.”
PAY DOWN NOTES
(OMEû$EPOTûPLANSûTOûUSEûTHEûPROCEEDSûTOû
repay up to US$1bn of notes coming due
on June 15, as well as to fund share
repurchases.
$URINGûTHEûlRSTûQUARTERûOFû ûTHEû
home improvement retailer reduced its
lease-adjusted leverage to 1.9 times from
2.0 times, according to CreditSights.
"YûCOMPARISON û(OMEû$EPOTSûBIGGESTû
competitor, Lowe’s, saw lease-adjusted
leverage tick up to 2.7 times during the
lRSTûQUARTER
That uptick caused Lowe’s to scale back
its share repurchase programme to
53BNûFROMûASûMUCHûASû53BN ûBUTûITû
STILLûOFFERSûAROUNDûBPûOFûSPREADûPICK
UPû
RELATIVEûTOû(OMEû$EPOT ûACCORDINGûTOû
CreditSights.
&ORûEXAMPLE û,OWESûûûBONDû
issued in April was trading at 136bp over
Treasuries last week, according to
-ARKET!XESSûDATA
Still, both names trade well for the
struggling retail sector, which will
continue to be challenged by tariffs.
“Conditions for home improvement
retailing remain above average within the
retail sector - in stark contrast to, say,
department stores,” CreditSights noted in
its report.
h7HILEûWEVEûSEENûAûMODESTûTAPERINGûOFû
DEMANDûFORûHOMEûIMPROVEMENTûGOODSûOFFû
the breakneck pace of early 2018), the
(OMEû$EPOTûSTORYûREMAINSûSTRONGûINûTHEû
broader context of retail.”
EUROS
CORPORATES PILE INTO STABILISING
MARKET
Investment-grade corporates resumed
BUSINESSûLASTû4UESDAY ûWITHûlVEûPULLINGûINû
big orders after a week of muted supply and
bumpy conditions.
Still, signs of a more cautious account
base remained.
VIVENDI, EURONEXT, EASYJET, ESB and UNILEVER
SEEû4OPû.EWS ûALLûAPPROACHEDûTHEûMARKETû
with elevated new issue premiums –
wrapped around 30bp – to tempt investors
off the sidelines.
4HOSEûINITIALû.)0SûAREûBPnBPûHIGHERû
THANûINûEARLYû-AY ûBANKERSûSAIDû"UTûSINCEû
then, rates have ground lower, and recent
deals have underperformed on the back of
renewed worries about growth and trade
tariffs.
And while Vivendi pulled in a bumper
€6.8bn book, orders were skewed to the
shorter tenors.
“The investor base is buying, but it is
more cautious than before,” a banker away
said.
"OTHû6IVENDIû"AA""" ûBOTHûSTABLE ûANDû
%URONEXTû!n ûSTABLE ûSOLDûOPPORTUNISTICû
TRADESûTOûHELPûlNANCEûACQUISITIONS
“There’s a micro window today and quite
a big pipeline,” a lead said. “I can see why
there are a lot of borrowers out there.
Issuers don’t want to get left behind - and
WHATûHAPPENSûNEXTûISûDIFlCULTûTOûCALLv
&RENCHûMEDIAûCONGLOMERATEû6IVENDIûTOOKû
centre stage with a three-part issue.
0ROCEEDSûWILLûHELPûlNANCEûITSûPAY
46ûGROUPû#ANALû0LUSSûõBNûPURCHASEûOFû%UROPEANû
RIVALû-ûANDûALSOûRElNANCEûAûõMû
$ECEMBERûûBOND
Vivendi went out with three, six and
nine.5-year tranches, marketing with what
leads said were starting concessions of 27bp,
BPûANDûBP ûRESPECTIVELY
That went down well: by mid-morning,
books were over €5bn, and had increased to
€6.5bn by the guidance stage.
Investors preferred the shorter tenors: the
THREE
YEARûFOUNDûDEMANDûOFûõBNûATû
guidance), while orders were €2.2bn for the
sixes and €1.9bn for the 9.5-year. All were
SIZEDûATûõM
Elsewhere, pan-European exchange
%URONEXTûRAISEDûõMûTOûPRE
lNANCEûITSû
53MûõM ûBIDûFORûCONTROLûOFû
Norwegian stock market operator Oslo Bors.
&INALûBOOKSûWEREûOVERûõBNûATûTHEûLAUNCHû
spread of swaps plus 92bp, leaving the no-
grow 10-year some six times covered.
"OTHûEASY*ETû"AA""" ûANDû%3"û!!n û
WEREûWELLûmAGGED ûHAVINGûCOMPLETEDû
investor meetings last week.
EasyJet launched a no-grow €500m six-
year at mid-swaps plus 118bp. Order books
for the low-cost airline closed at €1.65bn.BONDS CORPORATESALL INVESTMENT-GRADE BONDS IN EUROS
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2019 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues €(m) (%)
1 BNP Paribas 143 38,806.97 7.2
2 JP Morgan 101 38,483.60 7.1
3 Barclays 114 36,647.68 6.8
4 Credit Agricole 123 34,806.75 6.4
5 HSBC 146 33,311.20 6.2
6 SG 101 31,895.38 5.9
7 Deutsche Bank 115 30,610.45 5.7
8 UniCredit 125 27,105.34 5.0
9 Citigroup 81 24,409.90 4.5
10 BAML 70 21,325.68 3.9
Total 611 540,034.58
Excluding ABS/MBS, equity-related debt.
Source: Refinitiv SDC code: N9ALL CORPORATE BONDS IN STERLING
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2019 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues £(m) (%)
1 Barclays 18 1,846.45 16.8
2 NatWest Markets 13 1,378.92 12.6
3 BNP Paribas 8 822.42 7.5
4 Santander 9 785.72 7.2
5 RBC 7 723.90 6.6
6 Morgan Stanley 5 703.64 6.4
7 HSBC 9 676.70 6.2
8 JP Morgan 6 630.76 5.8
9 Goldman Sachs 5 614.55 5.6
10 Lloyds Bank 7 559.68 5.1
Total 32 10,965.36Source: Refinitiv SDC code: N8aALL SWISS FRANC BONDS INCLUDING
SECURITISATIONS
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2019 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues SFr(m) (%)
1 Credit Suisse 70 8,015.55 31.7
2 UBS 64 6,739.22 26.6
3 Verband Schweizerischer 14 3,336.21 13.2
4 ZKB 33 2,177.74 8.6
5 Raiffeisen Schweiz 23 1,521.42 6.0
6 BNP Paribas 6 782.38 3.1
7 HSBC 3 650.00 2.6
8 Basler KB 10 545.32 2.2
9 Commerzbank 6 442.31 1.7
10 Deutsche Bank 3 291.97 1.2
Total 131 25,315.95
Including preferreds. Excluding equity-related debt.
Source: RefinitivALL INTERNATIONAL STERLING BONDS
EXCLUDING SECURITISATIONS
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2019 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues £(m) (%)
1 HSBC 54 9,117.69 14.6
2 Barclays 54 8,391.30 13.4
3 NatWest Markets 45 6,742.14 10.8
4 RBC 38 6,327.06 10.1
5 Citigroup 22 5,172.34 8.3
6 Deutsche Bank 17 3,785.42 6.0
7 BAML 21 3,768.91 6.0
8 TD Securities 20 3,446.65 5.5
9 Lloyds Bank 21 2,608.34 4.2
10 Santander 16 2,607.96 4.2
Total 131 62,596.16
Including preferreds. Excluding equity-related debt.
Source: Refinitiv SDC code: K05a