ABS and CLOs break 2.0 issuance records
The European asset-backed securities (ABS) market saw a record issuance last week with €5bn of primary issuance.
Insights Topic
Europe
ECB wage data - can I get a raise?
The European Central Bank (ECB) will almost certainly start their rates cutting cycle next month. Supportive inflation data and clear guidance from the governing council has driven market implied probabilities of a June cut to almost 100%, with little in the way to derail that.
Don't miss out on scarcity premium in AT1s
The first four months of this year have seen €11.6bn in gross Additional Tier 1 (AT1) issuance from European banks, across euros, dollars and sterling markets.
European banking M&A gathering pace
Recently, BBVA announced that it had approached the management of Banco Sabadell, to explore a possible merger between both entities, with BBVA also appointing advisers for this purpose.
Small miss for Enel, big step for the sector
Following yesterday’s release of Italian energy company Enel's 2023 annual sustainability report, it was confirmed that they had failed to meet the emissions reduction key performance indicator (KPI) linked to a number of their sustainability linked bonds (SLBs).
European banking stocks - flying!
The Additional Tier 1's product was first launched in early 2013, so the asset class has mostly seen the period of negative interest rates and challenging operating environment post the Euro zone crisis.
Powell and Lagarde share notes on possible rate cuts
We have had a busy week on the central bank front with the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimony to congress on Wednesday before Christine Lagarde took centre stage at the European Central Bank press conference yesterday.
RT1s in vogue once again as issuance bounces back
NN Group, the Dutch insurer, has issued its inaugural €750m Restricted Tier 1 (RT1) deal, which came with a 6.375% coupon and BBB-/BBB rating from S&P/Fitch.
One year on from the collapse of Credit Suisse - and what a year it has been for AT1s
Almost a year ago to the day, we were in the midst of banking sector turmoil, which started off with regional banks in the US and spilled over to Europe, eventually culminating in the forced merger between Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse.
The latest insights on leveraged loans and their impact on CLOs
Last year was a volatile year for global markets but also one where economies performed better than expected. If we look at the leveraged loan market, last year was characterised by a surge in so-called amend and extend (A&E).
Issuer calls drive AT1 spread compression
A few weeks ago, JP Morgan skipped a call on one of its $1,000 par preference shares (“US Prefs”). The perpetual notes had a coupon of 6.75% payable until Jan’24, with a subsequent reset of 3-month SOFR + 404bps. Post the non-call, the coupon changed to 9.35% and will continue to reset every 3 months.
Volkswagen’s ESG drive hits a bump in the road
Within the European ABS landscape, Volkswagen Leasing has solidified its role as a benchmark issuer under the Volkswagen Compartment Leasing (VCL) platform. Volkswagen uses this platform – with over 25 years of history – to finance standard German auto loans. It is probably one of the least exciting platforms but also one of the most liquid ABS investments you can buy.