EIB

The EIB laid down a statement of intent with its £1bn blockbuster this week. The European supranational’s opener for the year suggests it is trying to get maximum cash through the door while the going is good. Despite the positive market tone driving some issuers to wait and see rather than pile in, they should tend towards the EIB’s tactics.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was the first SSA out of the blocks this year, picking sterling to start its year’s funding by pricing a whopping £1bn benchmark on Thursday afternoon. The deal, whose books reached £2bn, follows several meetings with sterling investors during the last quarter.

Buoyant conditions on the first proper day of trading after the Christmas break indicate that SSAs are in for a red hot start to issuance next week when as much as €25bn of benchmark issuance could hit screens. But ultra low yields could mean issuers have to cough up when it comes to new issue premia.

The EIB priced a Skr750m ($112.52m) bond on Wednesday afternoon, outstripping the minimum target set by the issuer by some way. Demand for the paper was sharpened by the EIB’s lack of presence in the kronor market this year.

The European Investment Bank priced a £100m tap of its 3.75% December 2027 notes inside the outstanding secondary levels on Monday, playing on strong demand for high grade paper from sterling investors.

The European Investment Bank on Monday raised £300m in three hours with its first sterling benchmark since March.

The EFSF has despatched an RFP to dealers for a trade which is anticipated to come next week, and bankers expect the EU to follow with a benchmark after that. The two borrowers are among the few SSA names with much funding left to do before the end of the year.

The EIB priced a Sfr100m ($106.3) 1.125% April 2023 deal at mid-swaps plus 15bps on Thursday afternoon, hot on the heels of a pair of niche currency trades from KfW.

Network Rail was set to price a five year Reg S/144A note on Wednesday afternoon at the tight end of initial guidance. The deal’s reception shows that investors are increasingly tolerant of the low spreads over Treasuries — caused by tight swap spreads — that have menaced attempts at dollar issuance in recent weeks.

The European Investment Bank and KfW added to the glut of dollar benchmark supply on Tuesday with new benchmark trades.

The European Investment Bank and Republic of Austria are considering dollars deals this week, SSA Markets understands. The deals will test demand for more expensive names in dollars, after blow-outs from a pair of European agencies and a Canadian province last week, as ultra low swap levels squeeze spreads over Treasuries.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank both jumped into the Russian rouble market on Wednesday to capitalise on the recent strong flows of non-domestic demand for high quality SSA names in the high yielding currency.