Banks Leading Bond Sales Surge in Europe as Credit Risk Declines
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UniCredit SpA and BNP Paribas SA were among banks fueling a surge of bond issuance in Europe as the cost of insuring debt against losses fell to the lowest in almost four years.
Italy’s biggest bank raised 1.25 billion euros ($1.7 billion) from seven-year bonds while France’s largest lender sold notes due January 2021. The Markit iTraxx Senior Financial index of credit-default swaps on 25 European banks and insurers fell one basis point to 81 basis points, the lowest since March