ESM-EFSF

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 European Financial Stability Facility sent out a request for proposals on Wednesday and could come with a deal as soon as next week. The bailout borrower will join several other names looking at printing in euros, but investors are cautious and borrowers could prove reluctant to test sentiment this week or next with a benchmark.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) received strong demand at Tuesday’s three month treasury bill auction, allowing it to offer negative yields for the second time.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) held talks with several commercial banks about setting up repo lines, on August 3. Bankers expect the request is the EFSF’s preparation for secondary market intervention.

SSA syndicate managers praised Tuesday’s tap by auction of the EFSF’s 1.125% June 2015s. The auction sold at a higher price than where bonds had been trading shortly before the sale End investor interest drove the pricing said, bankers, rather than primary dealer aggression.

Money market funds buying European government debt facing a drought in yield should turn their attentions to non-triple-A rated commercial paper, analysts have suggested. But with a number of split-rated borrowers such as Belgium, France and now the EFSF offering negative yields in money market instruments, fund managers’ quests for yield could be hindered.

The EFSF has become the latest issuer to move into negative yields in its short dated instruments. But despite the historically low rates the rescue fund is still not regarded as a safe haven.

FMS Wertmanagement was set to print a €2.5bn five year note on Wednesday afternoon. However, the deal, which bankers said was tightly priced,was only just subscribed and camemore than 50bp inside a five year trade from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) which attracted an €8bn book the day before.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was flooded with orders for a five year euro benchmark on Tuesday morning, enabling the issuer to double the size of the deal from the originally intended €3bn to €6bn. Inevitably however, some bankers away from the deal felt the issuer had paid up to get it done.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF)mandated three banks to run a much anticipated five year benchmark, following a request for proposals a week ago for €3bn of funding. The mandate comes on a day when Spanish 10 year yields sat north of 7% and Eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the latest developments in the sovereign debt crisis.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) printed a €1bn tap of its 2037s on Wednesday despite one of its guarantors requesting a bail-out and having led bankers to believe it would be looking to print a new benchmark.