Real estate company Gecina saw its focus on central Paris pay off in 2017, with buoyant demand driving the acquisition of rival office space owner Eurosic. Since then, Gecina has been busy cutting the cost of its debt as part of a long-term strategy, as David Wigan reports.

When the UK’s Al Rayan Bank needed funding to sustain expansion, it was bound by sharia rules on interest. Its innovative solution was a residential mortgage-backed securitisation, which successfully attracted a mixture of investors, as David Wigan reports.

As part of its journey back to prosperity after a severe recession, Iceland made a belated return to the international markets with a successful bond issuance. David Wigan reports.

After the damaging emissions scandal in 2015, Volkswagen came back fighting in 2017. This led to VW Bank, freshly separated from VW Financial Services, issuing a three-tranche deal that exceeded all expectations. David Wigan reports.

Innogy, the youthful business that was spun out of RWE in 2016, found plenty of takers when it decided on a green bond programme to complement its sustainable wind energy credentials. David Wigan reports.

Italian energy company Snam demerged from Italgas in 2016, and since then has pulled off several deals to reduce its debt financing costs, ultimately leading to a rating upgrade. David Wigan reports.

The Austrian government’s landmark 100-year bond drew double the usual amount of investors. Markus Stix of the Austrian Treasury described the deal to David Wigan. 

Following the sovereign debt crisis, Europe's funding safeguard was set up to ensure regional stability. While most countries no longer need propping up, the European Stability Mechanism is still busy, as head of funding and investor relations Siegfried Ruhl tells David Wigan.

The uptick in the fortunes of key central and eastern European economies has given a boost to Raiffeisen Bank International, which made its additional Tier 1 securities debut in June. David Wigan assesses the success of this move.

The World Bank’s green bond issuance recently passed the $10bn milestone. Treasury capital markets director George Richardson explains to David Wigan how it is now spearheading other sustainable instruments.