China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) has printed a US$3bn-equivalent dual-currency bond well inside initial guidance, even after the US escalated its trade war with China by putting the company on a controversial list.

The central state-owned seeds-to-chemicals group priced a US$600m five-year senior bond at Treasuries plus 185bp, a US$1bn 10-year at Treasuries plus 235bp, and a US$200m 30-year at par to yield 3.7%, equivalent to Treasuries plus 228.6bp.

Respective guidance was Treasuries plus 235bp area, Treasuries plus 275bp area, and 4.15% area.

It also sold a US$600m subordinated perpetual non-call three at par to yield 3.35%, inside guidance of 3.7% area. The coupon will reset to the initial 319.4bp spread over three-year Treasuries plus an additional 300bp if it is not called after three years.

A €500m (US$594m) four-year senior bond priced at mid-swaps plus 168bp. Initial price guidance was mid-swaps plus 205bp area, but this later tightened...

Investors keen to snap up bonds from the European Union under its SURE (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency) programme will have to wait a bit longer as the anticipated September start has been moved to October.

While the EU is not new on the public sector scene, the huge increase in its funding programme has made it one of the most hotly anticipated issuers of the autumn.

However, the original timetable whereby the issuer was expected to emerge in the week of September 21 has slipped due to delays in finalising the details and loan contracts with member states.

"The investor presentation is correct - week two-three October is now the (confident) target," Niall Bohan, a director at the European Commission told IFR.

The initial target of the last week of September is proving difficult "because of delays in finalising the details and loan contracts with [member states]," he said adding that another global call would be held next week to...

Burberry modelled a series of firsts in Monday's sterling market, selling not only its inaugural bond issue, but also the debut sustainable bond from the luxury goods sector.

The landmark deal caught investors' interest with orders for the £300m no-grow September 2025 quickly reaching £2.45bn.

Although debut issuers and ESG debt often attract strong investor demand, it was not necessarily clear at the outset how strong the response would be.

"With first-time issuers, investors want to know whether they will become regular issuers so that they know it is worth doing all the credit work," said a banker.

"Burberry doesn't strictly need to issue but it is protecting its liquidity through Covid. It is not necessarily convincing to say they will be issuing regularly."

But the focus of the new bond's use of proceeds, as well as the strength of the name, supported robust demand for the issue.

The level of support for the deal also allowed bookrunners...

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) on Thursday named consumer banking head Jane Fraser to succeed Michael Corbat next year as the bank’s chief executive officer, making her the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.

Fraser, 53, has been a rising star in the financial industry, with a career spanning investment banking, wealth management, troubled mortgage workouts and strategy in Latin America – a key business for Citigroup.

Her promotion to CEO was widely expected since being elevated to Citigroup president last year, and was celebrated as a step in the right direction for an industry that has few women or diverse executives in its top ranks.

“Great news for the company and for women everywhere!” tweeted Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) operations and technology chief Cathy Bessant. “A big and fantastic moment.”

Citigroup shares were nearly flat in morning...

Citigroup has picked former investment banker Jane Fraser to take over as chief executive, making her the first woman to run a major US bank, after Michael Corbat announced on Thursday he will retire in February.

Fraser will take over the CEO role in February but will join the bank’s board of directors immediately.

JP Morgan was also in the running to be the first large US bank to name the first female CEO.

Corbat, who turned 60 in May, will retire after eight years as CEO. He has been with Citi for 37 years and took the top spot after a rocky tenure for his predecessor Vikram Pandit.

Citi's board commended Corbat for leaving the firm in a much stronger position than he found it.

“I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished in the past eight years,” Corbat said in a statement. “We completed our transformation from the financial crisis and emerged a simpler, safer and stronger institution.”

Fraser was appointed as president and CEO of...

Quicken Loans took advantage of a record period of mortgage originations and strong demand for Double B corporate bonds with its first bond offering since its parent Rocket Companies went public in August.

The mortgage lender launched on Wednesday a US$2bn two-part offering of senior unsecured notes, upsized from an initial US$1.25bn.

A US$750m 8.5 year non-call 3.5 tranche was launched at 3.625%, while a US$1.25bn 10.5 year non-call 5.5 was launched at 3.875%.

The bond comes amid a refinancing boom in the US mortgage market, as borrowers take advantage of low rates.

Quicken was well placed to benefit during the pandemic with its online platform, according to rating agencies, with the company the largest overall US mortgage originator in the first half of 2020.

The company generated US$3.2bn in net income in the first half of 2020, compared with US$750m for the full year 2019, according to Moody's.

S&P noted that leverage could climb to...

Germany's debut green bond sale on Wednesday pulled in more than €33bn of demand, enabling the borrower to price through its conventional curve, demonstrating the growing appeal of the asset class for investors globally.

The sovereign became the second issuer in two days to fully use the attraction of the green format with investors to price through its non-green curve, following Sweden on Tuesday.

But Germany's status as the main reference rate in Europe and its intention to build a liquid green curve made the €6.5bn 10-year transaction, of which €500m was retained by the issuer, a milestone for the market.

"This trade is particularly important for the sovereign space and could easily be replicated by other issuers, especially those that have a similar infrastructure like their own trading desks," said Achim Linsenmaier, global head of public sector origination at Deutsche Bank.

Leads Barclays, Credit Agricole, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and...

A five-year trade for Kommunalbanken that emerged in parallel with a deal in the same tenor from the Nordic Investment Bank won the demand stakes on Thursday, with its final book passing US$3.6bn.

The Triple A rated Norwegian agency and Finland-based supranational surfaced in a relatively quiet week for public issuance in the currency that has helped bring about a firmer tone in the market.

"It's difficult to put your finger on why the market was tougher last week," a syndicate banker said.

"Swap spreads have crept up a bit higher which helps. US treasury yields haven't changed dramatically though. But I guess there's broader market optimism."

The five-year US dollar swap spread was quoted at 7.25bp on Thursday, up around 3bp from the end of August.

It helped that Thursday's trades were in the five-year part of the curve given the current low yield environment.

"No one has really pushed back in five-year," the banker said. "But we've...

Royal FrieslandCampina (RFC), one of the five largest dairy companies in the world, saw strong demand for its a hybrid bond in a corporate bond market that is welcoming all-comers.

The Dutch dairy co-operative approached investors with a €300m perpetual non-call 5.25-year hybrid bond at initial price thoughts of 3.375%.

After strong investor demand that saw books closing at over €1.85bn, leads ABN Amro, Citigroup, ING, JP Morgan and Rabobank set the final yield at 2.875%.

The company, which has a 140-year history, is fully owned by its 17,413 dairy farmers across the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

RFC carries a BBB/BBB+ from S&P and Fitch, respectively. Both rating agencies have negative outlooks on the credit. The hybrid bond is expected to carry a rating of BB+/BBB-.

"This is RFC's debut in the euro markets. They're on a negative outlook for their credit ratings so this is a good way to further strengthen their balance sheet," said a lead...

The European Stability Mechanism marked the one-year anniversary since its previous US dollar issuance with a return to the currency through a US$3bn five-year bond that landed 2bp inside IPTs.

The issuer (Aa1/AAA/AAA) set the spread at 14bp over swaps.

"It looked very strong. It's a rare European supra paying 4bp-5bp over an ADB-type credit," said a banker away.

"I know there's an argument of credit but from a simplistic point of view, it always looks good value."

The banker also said that the rarity of the issuer in dollars put it on a similar level to Canada and the Bank of England, where the chance to buy size in primary could offset any qualms from investors over the pricing level.

"Maybe they don't like the five-year valuation but they wear it on the ESM because you don't get many chances to buy it," he said.

ESM printed in dollars last September, when it sold a US$2bn 1.375% September 2024, which marked its smallest but longest trade...

Vallourec bonds dropped by up to 14 points after the company said it was looking to enter negotiations with banks, bondholders and other stakeholders for a potential debt restructuring.

The French steel pipe maker, rated CCC+ by S&P, launched a consent solicitation on Wednesday for two of its bonds: its €550m 6.625% October 2022s and its €400m 6.375% October 2023s.

Vallourec is asking its bondholders to allow it to request a mandataire ad hoc, according to a press release published on Tuesday.

Mandataire ad hocs help companies restructure their debt pile through negotiation of an agreement between the debtor and its creditors. Negotiations are undertaken by a court-appointed mediator.

"The company says there is no issue with liquidity but just needs to scale down its debt, so is looking to achieve this through discussion," said a high-yield investor.

The company, which makes steel pipes for the energy market, has €1.42bn in cash and €123m of...

Erste Group Bank further demonstrated the strength of the market for subordinated bank debt on Tuesday as it priced a new €500m Tier 2 inside its secondaries.

The deal is the second euro benchmark Tier 2 issued since the FIG primary market reopened last week, following a €500m deal for Danske Bank last Wednesday, and similarly capitalised on abundant demand for the product.

Erste's leads Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS marketed the €500m no-grow 11-year non-call six transaction with initial price thoughts of mid-swaps plus 245bp area.

Guidance was set at 215bp-220bp, before the deal was launched at 210bp with books passing €3.4bn.

The deal is only Erste's second Tier 2 issuance since 2012, following a €500m transaction last November. That 1% June 2030 non-call 2025 Tier 2 was bid at 213bp on Tuesday morning, according to Tradeweb figures.

Adjusting for the relatively low reset spread of the outstanding deal, bankers saw...