Commerzbank’s chief executive Bettina Orlopp said she didn’t understand the logic behind UniCredit’s surprise low-premium €35bn offer for the bank, which her Italian counterpart Andrea Orcel outlined on Monday.

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.

China is restricting some overseas-incorporated Chinese companies from listing in Hong Kong unless they unwind their so-called red-chip structure, according to the Chinese securities regulator.

(Reuters) - India's HDFC Bank said late on Wednesday its part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty has resigned citing differences with the lender over "values and ethics", sending its US-listed shares sharply lower.

Electronic Arts is expected to launch €2bn-plus of euro-denominated notes as soon as next week as part of a debt package backing the largest leveraged buyout on record.

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.

The average new issue concession in the euro corporate market has doubled over the past week, helping to put a brake on the underperformance of recent new issues following the outbreak of the Middle East war.  

Kawasaki Heavy Industries unveiled a unique sustainable finance framework on Monday, with the aim of reducing emissions across its supply chain.

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. 

InStar Group is returning to the US asset-backed primary to finance its portfolio of railcars as funding conditions remain attractive despite the rise in fuel costs due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

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 – freezing activity in the sector.

Shipping company d'Amico International sold 5% of oil and gas unit d’Amico International Shipping on Wednesday evening to boost liquidity in the stock but had to accept a heavy discount.

Reliance Industries-owned Jio Platforms has hired 17 banks for its IPO and plans to file it as early as the end of this month, people with knowledge of the transaction said.

Responding to strong investor demand, Janus Living now plans to close the order books on its up to US$740m NYSE IPO at 4:00pm Wednesday, accelerating the cutoff time from noon on Thursday.

China is restricting some overseas-incorporated Chinese companies from listing in Hong Kong unless they unwind their so-called red-chip structure, according to the Chinese securities regulator.

Electronic Arts has attracted a substantial order book for the debt package backing the largest leveraged buyout on record.

The syndication of the more than US$5bn debt package backing software provider Qualtrics’ acquisition of healthcare analytics company Press Ganey Forsta remains viable despite market noises of a postponement, according to a source.

A US$7.15bn debt package backing private equity firm CD&R’s buyout of packaging company Sealed Air is expected to launch imminently, according to sources.

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.

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.