EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday seized the opportunity to increase its Russian rouble 7.5% 2019s to Rb1.75bn ($54m) based on strong international demand for one of the few emerging market currencies still providing yields high enough to entice investors.

The EIB rounded off a busy week in the SSA euro market on Friday with a €250m tap of its FRN January 2019s. Bankers expect further dollar and euro issuance next week despite potentially volatile markets.

Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) issued a new 20 year Swedish Krona bond on Tuesday, answering cash rich investors desperate to invest. However, bankers do not expect many SSA borrowers to answer the plea for new bonds.

Next week the issuance calendar looks less like a pipeline and more like a bunfight. The pressure’s on to get funded ahead of a messy September, and borrowers will be tempted to cram deals in. But they must be cautious.

Several borrowers are lining up benchmarks despite a decline in investor sentiment this week. Issuers face a choice between risking potentially tough conditions and overcrowding to get funding done ahead of September — a month they fear could be a disaster — or waiting.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) returned to the Kangaroo market on Wednesday, the only SSA to do so as the market’s recent pace of issuance begins to slow.

The EIB was set to price a seven year dollar deal as SSA Markets went to press. The borrower seized upon a lack of recent supply and investor desire for duration to bring a long dated deal that should help tighten in its curve if the level of oversubscription is anything to go by.

It has seemed crazy that so many issuers were prepared to sit the summer out given the benign market conditions in recent weeks.

Hurrah! So the EIB, the one borrower that’s been put in the corner for most of the year, finally managed to tap the Kangaroo market this week. This is a positive sign for not just the EIB but for European SSAs in general but one mustn’t forget the mid-part of the curve still remains a no-go area for the EIB.

The EIB and Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) tapped Nordic currency lines on Wednesday as international investors scurry for Scandinavian currency safe haven paper.

The Kangaroo market demonstrated that it was back to full strength this week when the EIB, a name for whom this market was closed only two weeks ago, printed a A$650m ($686m) 10 year bond with an A$800m book.

SSA names were in high demand on Thursday as FMS Wertmanagement and the EIB tapped existing lines to satisfy rampant investor demand. The deals followed Wednesday’s seven year dollar blowout from KfW.