Global merger and acquisition activity has slumped since the start of the latest war in the Middle East and senior bankers said a number of deals have been paused. But they are optimistic that dealmaking will bounce back as corporates have become more accustomed to geopolitical bumps. Bankers said corporate bosses are also assessing changing deal structures to reduce risks.
Nomura is investing to expand in macro trading as the Japanese bank bets that the volatility that has rocked financial markets in early 2026 is set to continue.
Data centre owner Nebius raised US$4bn from convertible bonds on Tuesday to back the massive capex programme required to deliver on AI infrastructure agreements, including a new US$27bn deal signed with Meta Platforms the previous day.
Hong Kong's bourse operator has proposed new measures to bolster initial public offerings, a move that is expected to further strain banks, law firms and auditors already under scrutiny from regulators about the quality of listing applications.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's DCM and syndicate desks will have breathed a collective sigh of relief after securing a place on a semi-government ticket for the first time in almost two years, having been shut out since the regulator launched a probe into its bonds and trading businesses.
Making the most of the first opportune window for euro FIG supply in a week, Nordea Mortgage Bank took to the stage on Wednesday with the first EuGB in covered format, a €1bn three-year mortgage-backed deal. This was also the issuer's first EuGB print and the first out of the Nordic region.
Danone made its sterling debut on Wednesday as part of a dual-currency trade only a couple of days after announcing its €1bn acquisition of the UK nutrition company Huel.
Czech defence business Colt CZ Group has mandated Berenberg and Citigroup as joint global coordinators for a capital increase to be carried out following its Amsterdam dual listing.
Aktia threads eye of the needle with AT1 refinancing
Facing turbulent markets and significant timing constraints, Aktia Bank pulled off an Additional Tier 1 refinancing exercise with the issuance of an €80m perpetual non-call July 2031 note on Wednesday.
I played rugby as a schoolboy. I wasn’t too bad, playing for East Yorkshire a few times at under-16 level. My position was scrum-half, which meant I had a lot of the ball. And being in the thick of things, one soon learns to be nimble and quick-thinking to avoid being crushed by rampaging forwards.
War derails M&A action, but pipeline keeps bankers optimistic
Global merger and acquisition activity has slumped since the start of the latest war in the Middle East and senior bankers said a number of deals have been paused. But they are optimistic that dealmaking will bounce back as corporates have become more accustomed to geopolitical bumps. Bankers said corporate bosses are also assessing changing deal structures to reduce risks.
Private credit software lenders up against the clock
Private credit lenders have a software problem that could flash “fatal error” within three years as some 47% of loans are set to mature, according to Houlihan Lokey.
Profit-squeezed credit traders take aim at platform fees
Faced with a historic profit squeeze, banks’ credit traders have set their sights on one of the biggest costs weighing them down: the hundreds of millions of dollars they pay every year in trading venue fees.
US Fed's Basel proposal slashes capital requirements
The US Federal Reserve’s new Basel III endgame proposal for regulating bank capital will cut Common Equity Tier 1 capital requirements by 2.4% for the largest US banks. That is more than a 20-point swing from the initial Basel III proposal three years ago, which had called for boosting capital requirements by more than 19%.
Nomura bets on market volatility with macro trading push
Nomura is investing to expand in macro trading as the Japanese bank bets that the volatility that has rocked financial markets in early 2026 is set to continue.
Making the most of the first opportune window for euro FIG supply in a week, Nordea Mortgage Bank took to the stage on Wednesday with the first EuGB in covered format, a €1bn three-year mortgage-backed deal. This was also the issuer's first EuGB print and the first out of the Nordic region.
Danone made its sterling debut on Wednesday as part of a dual-currency trade only a couple of days after announcing its €1bn acquisition of the UK nutrition company Huel.
Aktia threads eye of the needle with AT1 refinancing
Facing turbulent markets and significant timing constraints, Aktia Bank pulled off an Additional Tier 1 refinancing exercise with the issuance of an €80m perpetual non-call July 2031 note on Wednesday.
Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities struggled to get buyers into its new US$500m five-year despite keeping the spread flat to the initial price talk.
RedZed pulled its planned 16th RMBS offering on Friday, the indicative A$800m (US$570m) non-conforming RedZed Trust Series 2026-1, a casualty of elevated market stress in reaction to the Iran war.
UK fintech Abound, formerly known as Fintern, managed to get its public ABS done in a volatile market, with its pricing reflecting the fact that the small and relatively young consumer lender was making its maiden transaction.
Nationwide Building Society priced and retained a £1.75bn, three-tranche RMBS called Silverstone 2026-1 on Wednesday, in a continuation of its stock and drop strategy that it last executed nine months ago.
European CLO deals dry up as war adds to AI software fears
It was supposed to be the year of the CLO. But first software names that populated many of the underlying assets were hit by AI disruption fears, and then the Middle East war kicked off – mostly freezing activity in the sector.
Making the most of the first opportune window for euro FIG supply in a week, Nordea Mortgage Bank took to the stage on Wednesday with the first EuGB in covered format, a €1bn three-year mortgage-backed deal. This was also the issuer's first EuGB print and the first out of the Nordic region.
The International Finance Corporation is spearheading a pair of notable new sustainable finance initiatives in Latin America. The World Bank Group’s private sector lender is both a lead investor in the region’s largest biodiversity bond to date and arranger of its first sustainability-linked loan for a sub-national government.
Geospatial data 'game-changer' for sustainable finance
Geospatial "big data" is increasingly used in sustainable finance to map physical assets and link them to environmental and social risks, such as extreme weather, water stress and geopolitical hot spots.
HSBC has quietly revived term debt issuance from a regional Spanish development bank, arranging the first identified deal from Institut Catala de Finances in nearly 13 years, according to LSEG data. The modestly sized €15m private note, due at the end of May 2031, pays a coupon of 3.2%.
Czech defence business Colt CZ Group has mandated Berenberg and Citigroup as joint global coordinators for a capital increase to be carried out following its Amsterdam dual listing.
Despite a highly challenging backdrop for ECM in the Middle East, Kuwaiti convenience store operator Trolley General Trading secured a positive debut on Wednesday with shares rising as much as much as 31.9%.
SK Hynix is filing confidentially to the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of a US listing that could take place in the second half of this year, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker said on Wednesday.
Banks wrap up jumbo debt sale for EA's record-breaking LBO
The bank group led by JP Morgan has priced approximately US$15bn in syndicated loans and bonds, across dollars and euros, backing the record-breaking buyout of video game maker Electronic Arts.
Spanish pharmaceuticals and chemicals manufacturer Grifols has launched a €2bn-equivalent senior secured term loan B which will be used, along with cash from its balance sheet, to refinance its existing euro and US dollar term loans due 2027.
French software company Cegid has run into a stumbling block trying to secure €1.2bn in funding to back its acquisition of European fintech Shine, with artificial intelligence-induced volatility undermining financing conditions.
Global Gruppe presses ahead with jumbo refi despite AI concerns
A group of direct lenders is underwriting a jumbo refinancing for Cologne-based insurance broker Global Gruppe, pushing ahead despite negative sentiment driven by artificial intelligence-driven disruption in the insurance broking and distribution sector.
News and entertainment company Nexstar Media Group has wrapped a US$1.75bn senior secured term loan B that, alongside other financing, supports its US$6.2bn acquisition of local news broadcast business Tegna.
Goeasy shows that it’s still too easy to hide a credit loss
The easiest way to hide a credit loss is not to deny it. It is to say it has not yet arrived. That was one of the quiet accounting failures exposed by the global financial crisis: losses were often recognised too late, only after the damage was obvious. IFRS 9 was supposed to fix that by forcing lenders to book expected credit losses earlier, using forward-looking judgment rather than waiting for the wreckage.
I played rugby as a schoolboy. I wasn’t too bad, playing for East Yorkshire a few times at under-16 level. My position was scrum-half, which meant I had a lot of the ball. And being in the thick of things, one soon learns to be nimble and quick-thinking to avoid being crushed by rampaging forwards.
A slowdown in dealmaking isn’t the only risk for banks from the Middle East conflict
Investment banks continue to expect strong first-quarter revenues. On Tuesday, Citigroup guided to mid-teens year-on-year growth in investment banking and markets revenues, and Bank of America guided to double-digit growth for both business lines. A few weeks ago, JP Morgan provided a similar upbeat message.
Macaskill on Markets: Who needs margins? Synthetic equity lending pumps up risk
A dramatic but little appreciated rise in the volume of equity total return swaps is being accompanied by an erosion in the margins charged by bank prime finance desks to clients such as hedge funds.
MFS and its discontents: when the security package triggers a run
The collapse of Market Financial Solutions follows a familiar and concerning pattern. According to documents submitted to London’s High Court at the commencement of its administration process, MFS may have double-pledged assets, potentially leaving a collateral shortfall of £930m. Loans to MFS totalled £1.16bn, and there was only £230m of “true value” available in the collateral accounts.
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