EIB

KfW accessed the Canadian dollar market for the first time this year on Wednesday, selling the largest ever Canadian dollar bond from an international SSA issuer. The deal signifies increased investor interest in the currency, with buyers treating it as a possible alternative to a weakening Australian dollar, and that could inspire further deals in the currency, said bankers.

KfW could follow the EIB into the euro market within the next couple of weeks, bankers said on Wednesday, after the supranational’s €3bn 10 year was successfully absorbed this week, despite the volatile underlying market.

Investor hesitance in the face of a rates sell-off that took up the whole of May and shows no sign of abating has resulted in dwindling enthusiasm for SSA new issues as the EIB and Belgium have found out so far this week.

The European Investment Bank targeted the far end of its Swiss franc curve on Thursday afternoon, selling a new 20 year bond. The 2033 maturity makes it comfortably the longest dated bond from an international issuer in Swiss francs this year, catching the attention of institutional investors.

SSA syndicate bankers are predicting either a seven year benchmark from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) next week, or a deal at the far end of the curve, after they made their recommendations to the borrower this week. The European Investment Bank and KfW are also expected to issue either next week or the week after.

Kommunalbanken sold its first senior unsecured Canadian debt in two years on Friday, opting for a five year RegS/144a deal. The deal follows the sale of five year debt in the currency by EIB and FMS Wertmanagement in April, prompting some analysts to predict a possible resurgence in interest in the currency.

Blow-out dollar deals by the European Investment Bank and Network Rail, which were priced on Wednesday afternoon, have demonstrated the rampant appetite for SSA paper. And now more issuers look set to take advantage of the conditions.

The European Investment Bank and Network Rail both have both mandated banks to lead new dollar transactions, the former looking at a three year global and the latter a five year RegS/144A trade. Leads announced initial price thoughts for both trades on Tuesday afternoon, with pricing expected on Wednesday.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Kommunalbanken (KBN) accessed the sterling market on Monday afternoon, selling taps of three and four year debt respectively. The deals follow a roadshow by Transport for London (TfL) ahead of a possible bond from the issuer.

The EIB sold a tap of 15 year Swiss franc debt on Thursday afternoon, taking advantage of keen investor appetite stimulated by a lack of international issuance in the currency. A difficult basis swap kept the size of the trade small, despite healthy demand.

NRW.Bank sold long four year sterling debt on Thursday afternoon, taking advantage of investor appetite for sterling paper at that part of the curve.

The European Investment Bank returned to the Canadian dollar market for the first time since 2007 on Wednesday, selling a five year global bond. The deal proved popular with investors looking for a premium over domestic SSA issuance in the currency.