German Sovereign

The European Investment Bank sold a tap of a 10 year EARN on Tuesday, with the increase falling slightly short of full subscription as investors proved reluctant to commit large amounts of cash to the deal. The City State of Berlin also came to market, opting for eight year debt.

As European sovereigns gear up for a busy period of auctions in late August and September, here are the latest funding figures for selected issuers.

Germany’s 10 year borrowing costs rose to their highest level in 18 months at an auction on Wednesday, as better than expected economic data gave investors to switch out of the eurozone’s safest assets and into the periphery.

State of Saxony-Anhalt took a novel approach to his funding strategy this week as it sold a private placement in Australian dollars— only the fourth time a German region has printed a bond in the currency.

The State of Hessen sold a five year floater on Monday, targeting demand from German bank treasuries looking for floating rate debt though the trade fell slightly short of full subscription. The European Investment Bank also came to market on Monday, tapping 12 year debt in response to a reverse inquiry.

This week's funding scorecard covers, from a capital markets perspective, the major German Laender. The funding requirement covers each state's total funding requirement. However, the data on what has been raised so far only covers bond market funding and not Schuldscheine (registered bonds) or any other source of borrowing. Higher than expected tax revenues may well mean that the Laender do not have to reach their full funding requirements this year, say analysts. Estimates of total funding raised by the Laender are that none are below 50% done for the year with the average state having raised between 60%-80% of what it needs already.

Berlin made a swift return to the bond market on Tuesday, selling six year floating rate debt to German bank treasuries and following up a seven year fixed rate note on Monday. The deal did not reach full subscription however, with investors holding out for higher yielding assets.

The City State of Berlin sold a tap of seven year debt on Monday. Issuance from the Länder has been muted in recent weeks, owing to a combination of unfavourable market conditions and many investors winding down their bond purchasing for the summer.

France, Germany and Spain held well received auctions of medium to long term debt this week. Here is a round-up of key European sovereigns' funding figures.

The State of Lower Saxony sold benchmark eight year euro debt on Tuesday, pricing the fixed rate bonds flat to its curve. The deal attracted a surprising amount of investor interest given the tight spread over mid-swaps, according to bankers close to the deal.

The State of Lower Saxony mandated banks for a new eight year benchmark euro deal on Monday, the first benchmark fixed rate bond from a German state since the start of June.

France passed its first test since losing its last triple-A rating on Friday, placing nearly €8bn of bills on Monday with just a slight increase in yields from a week ago. The sovereign is expected to sail through an auction of longer dated debt later on Thursday with similar ease, but a debt auction for Spain on the same day may be a tougher sell as investors digest the latest political scandal from the country, said analysts.