In difficult market conditions with a heavy existing debt burden, Annington Homes was still able to issue the largest ever debut high-yield bond in the UK.

Needing to raise €3bn in Tier 2 capital at short notice, reborn Dutch bank ABN Amro broke new ground in the Singapore dollar market.

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica took a risk coming to market just before the European Central Bank announced the details of its bond-buying plans in September, but the risk paid off with investment pouring in.

A covered bond placed with a yield well inside the Italian government provides a reassuring signal that the country’s largest bank by assets, UniCredit, has a viable funding plan to ride out the sovereign crisis.

Switzerland’s second largest bank had to react quickly with an innovative convertible offering after the country’s central bank demanded an increase in its capital base.

Oil and gas multinational BG Group has a strong credit record, but it was still a brave decision to launch an unusual structure just after the Greek elections with an extra tranche added to target Asian private bank clients.

Even with good ratings and a global brand, US tobacco company Philip Morris was taking a risk issuing in the unpredictable Euromarket. It paid off, however, when the company recorded the lowest coupon for a corporate deal.

The Japanese Pro-Bond market, which was created in 2011, allows foreign issuers an easier route to Japan’s ample liquidity than through the traditional Samurai market. However, it needed a ground-breaking deal, and Dutch bank ING obliged.