Citi taps Japanese retail market for $2.9bn

Citigroup this week launched a record ¥315bn ($2.91bn) Samurai bond targeted at retail investors, becoming the latest global financial institution to turn to the Japanese market in search of much-needed funding. The deal pays a healthy spread of 207.73bp over swaps and comes as banking rivals Credit Suisse and ANZ are also looking to sell Samurai bonds — though both are targeting much tighter spreads. Read EuroWeek on Friday for more, and to find out why Japan has become the preferred source of funding for some of the world’s biggest banks.