The weekend marked the official end of the northern hemisphere summer holidays, which means the financial markets should get back to "normal" this week and volumes should pick up noticeably. But even last week it was apparent that issuers in the Euromarket were already gearing up for a return to normal conditions and word has it that there is quite a pipeline in place already, even if many of the issuers in the pipeline are European banks. What was interesting to observe last week though, was the level of true corporate issuance, and where it was being priced. It speaks volumes for where investor demand lies and could be a pointer to some Australian true corporate issuance before the end of this year, even if the issuance is not in the domestic market.UBS AG, which is rated 'AA-' by Standard & Poor's, issued €1.75 billion for five years at 165 bps over mid-swaps. This is approximately 35 bps wide of where its five-year credit default swaps are being priced but is not surprising given the volume issued and current market conditions. However, it seems the further one moves away from the banking and finance sector, the better the pricing gets. Daimler International Finance, 'A-', raised €750 million for seven years at about 155bps over swap, while Philip Morris, 'A', raised the same amount for the same period via a global bond issue at 135bps over swap and €1.0 billion for three years at 98 bps over swap. But it is the utility sector that investors seem to want most.The German multi-national electricity and gas distribution company, E.ON AG, 'A' raised €750 million for three years and €1.25 billion for seven years, priced at 45 bps and 72 bps over mid-swaps, respectively. Later in the week, the French electricity transmission company, RTE EDF Transport SA, 'AA-', raised €1.0 billion for 10 years at 52 bps over mid-swaps. At these levels, it is clearly cheaper for some corporates to issue bonds than rely on bank funding.Back home, it was only the banks continuing to go offshore to raise funds. Westpac was again the largest issuer of the week, raising €500 million for five years on Friday night and US$500 million for one year at Libor plus 30 bps earlier in the week. Westpac's New York branch issued a US$100 million deposit note for two years at Libor plus 65 bps.In the Euromarket, the CBA privately placed US$50 million for one year at Libor plus 19 bps; Rabobank Australia added $50 million to its April 2011 line to take outstandings to $200 million, and GE Capital Australia Funding added $150 million to its February 2012 line, to take outstandings to $1.0 billion. NAB redeemed US$300 million of subordinated, lower Tier II, debt, exercising its five-year call option.  Bank of New Zealand continued adding to its various domestic lines last week, with NZ$60 million added to its May 2011 line to take outstandings to NZ$ 170 million, and ANZ Bank launched its much anticipated,