As the US/Israel war with Iran neared the end of its second week, investment banks in the Middle East region, who have expanded over the past two years amid a flurry of debt and equity raising, have signalled they are maintaining their local operations and are confident in long-term prospects.

Top US banks are expecting double digit percent growth in investment banking and trading in the current quarter, building on a deal making boom that started last year and a multi-year boom in fixed income and equity trading.

Investors scrambling to protect themselves against rising bond yields sent trading volumes in government bonds and interest rate derivatives surging to all-time highs in early March, as the prospect of a protracted conflict in the Middle East reignited fears over inflation.

A year and a half after UniCredit chief executive Andrea Orcel raised hopes of a bout of cross-border European banking M&A with his purchase of a 29.9% stake in Commerzbank, the flurry of activity has died down but cross-border activity in other European financial segments remains alive. Insurance and asset management have been particularly active. 

Corporate bond sales surged during the second week of March in some of the US high-grade market’s busiest sessions on record as borrowers played catch-up after a series of stops and starts since the outbreak of the Iran war.

A number of low-rated African sovereigns have issued at high yields in the US dollar markets this year to ease pressure on their domestic curves, highlighting the difficult balancing act these countries face in managing their liquidity needs.

Automaker Stellantis brought its inaugural hybrid bonds to the market on Tuesday with one of the largest subordinated deals from a corporate, though it paid up to achieve its target. 

Barely a year after completing the largest private credit financing outside of the US, India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group is planning to raise at least US$2.8bn from a transaction that includes its debut in the US dollar debt market.

Two specialist UK mortgage lenders, Enra and Paratus AMC, have reopened the RMBS market following volatility from the war in Iran causing a hiatus.

The US-Israeli war with Iran is putting the spotlight on the aviation ABS sector, prompted by concerns about rising fuel costs and air traffic in the Middle East region.

Synchrony Financial prepared the first credit card ABS of 2026 in hopes of capturing attractive funding amid the market volatility spurred by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Regular nonbank issuer Resimac braved an otherwise deserted RMBS market to issue the A$1bn (US$710m) Resimac Premier Series 2026-1, which relied on hefty lead manager support to get the senior A2 tranche away. 

The UK’s strategy for its pioneering retail sovereign green bonds – a world-first at launch back in 2021 – has become even more uncertain with Tuesday’s launch of the first new green Gilt to incorporate a retail offer .

Amundi's sustainability profile is helping to win more institutional mandates as asset owners seek to manage climate-related risks and their transition exposure. 

London Stock Exchange Group's new set of ESG scores and sustainability analytics aims to make data more transparent and comparable, and easier for global financial markets to use and analyse in preparation for greater automation. 

South Africa has created a pioneering credit guarantee vehicle that aims to mobilise as much as US$10bn into the country’s energy, transport and water infrastructure over the next decade.

There were mixed emotions for a number of bankers on Wednesday as they bade farewell to the regular flow of equity trades in Swiss skincare specialist Galderma following a SFr4.9bn (US$6.3bn) ABB that was upsized thanks to overwhelming demand, in a deal that marked the exit from the register for its former owners.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has revived plans for a US$5bn–$10bn NYSE listing of Pershing Square USA (PSUS) to provide his hedge fund with another source of permanent capital.

SoftBank-backed Japanese fintech PayPay raised US$880m on Wednesday after pricing a below-range Nasdaq IPO that leaned heavily on strategic cornerstone demand and unusually strong support from investors in its home market.

Madison Air publicly filed for a NYSE IPO late Monday after Blackstone-backed HVAC peer Legence posted an 80%-plus surge in its share price since its September listing.

The debt package backing the US$55bn leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts is expected to be marketed at wider levels than initially anticipated, as volatility triggered by the escalating Middle East war ripples through credit markets.

SoftBank Group is once again pushing the boundaries of the loan market in Asia Pacific with a mammoth financing of up to US$40bn to fund a new investment in OpenAI, in what could become the second-largest bridge facility from the region.

Direct lenders in the US and Europe are leaning into the latest bout of market volatility, arguing that wider spreads, tighter documentation and lower leverage are creating a more attractive environment for deployment.

Median Group bucked the trend among European leveraged finance borrowers of downing tools and waiting for stability to return by swiftly moving through the market with an amend-and-extend exercise.

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.

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.

It is unbecoming to say “I told you so”, but when it comes to Meta Platforms’ US$27.3bn project bond to fund its Hyperion data centre via private credit shop Blue Owl Capital (and SPV Beignet Investor) the temptation is strong. I wrote in late 2025 that Meta’s decision not to consolidate the debt on its balance sheet sits uneasily with the economic risk that investors have assumed they are taking when they bought the deal in October. And now Meta’s auditor, EY, clearly feels this same tension.

Full-year earnings from European banks – Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and UBS – showed them broadly holding market share in the markets’ business, but struggling to capitalise on the upswing in investment banking.