At least two entities affiliated with the failed bridge loan provider Market Financial Solutions were not audited, according to a source close to the situation, further complicating debt recovery at the London-based lender, which is alleged to have double pledged a large portion of its over £2bn in loans.

Thames Water’s main creditor group has amended the terms of its offer to take over the troubled utility, offering to provide significantly more new debt, of up to £6.55bn, up from £2.25bn previously, and an additional £200m of new equity for a total of £3.35bn.

A rebound in the US dollar since the outbreak of the war against Iran is putting pressure on some of this year's most popular bets in foreign exchange markets.

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.

Canadian issuers continued to breathe life into the FIG space on Monday as Bank of Montreal revived euro senior unsecured bank supply with a €1.25bn two-part offering, split across three-year non-call two floating-rate and six-year non-call five green fixed-to-floating tranches.  

Luxembourg's €2.5bn 10-year bond on Monday showed that smaller SSA issuers are also finding a strong bid in the public market after more high-profile names had proven there's still plenty of demand chasing sovereign supply .

Akzo Nobel and Deutsche Boerse led a charge of issuers making the most of a more stable window on Monday and found very different responses from investors who proved picky on pricing, tenor and name.

Amazon set a new record for the largest corporate bond sale in capital markets history, raising US$53.8bn-equivalent as it gathers the money it needs to acquire a significant stake in OpenAI – while also embarking on the biggest corporate capital expenditure programme ever seen.

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.

After winning a development contract from the US government, Guardian Metal Resources is taking the logical next step of listing in the US via an NYSE American listing that will be accompanied by a roughly US$50m raise.

The Indian government has formally approved revised free-float rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, paving the way for large IPOs from Jio Platforms and National Stock Exchange.

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.

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.