Deutsche Bahn Finance, the finance-arm of the German rail network, has entered a cross-currency interest rate swap to convert a CHF75 million (USD55.6 million) fixed rate bond into a euro-denominated synthetic floater. Hartwig Schneidereit, head of capital markets and risk management in Berlin, said the rail firm pays a six-month Euribor-based rate and receives the 3.06% coupon on the bond. The swap mirrors the 10-year maturity of the bond.
The rail firm routinely issues in foreign currencies, including the Swissie, and always exchanges the issue for euros. The interest rate swap, meanwhile, allows Deutsche Bahn to take advantage of low interest rates on a positively sloped interest rate curve, he added.
