German Sovereign

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.

The State of Rhineland-Palatinate and NRW.Bank both sold floating rate debt at the short end of the curve on Monday, with Rhineland-Palatinate opting for a new two year euro bond while NRW.Bank chose to increase its recent three year euro deal.

Germany printed its first federal-regional bond, a Bund-Laender-Anheile (BLA), on Wednesday afternoon at a slight premium to mid-swaps in the first benchmark to grace the public sector debt markets in a week.

SSA bankers predicted that the week’s new issue supply could be confined to sovereign borrowers, as the volatility which engulfed markets late last week shows little sign of abating.

This week's funding scorecard focuses on some of Europe's key sovereigns. Next week's scorecard will offer an update on Spanish regions and gencies.

The Finanzagentur unveiled on Thursday which states will participate in the inaugural Bund-Laender-Anheile.

Five banks have won the mandate to run investor meetings for Germany’s first joint federal-regional bond — a Bund-Laender-Anheile — with a view to selling a euro benchmark.

The State of Lower Saxony raised €500m of five year money on Monday afternoon. The issuer plumped for a floating rate issue, which boosted investor demand in a volatile rates environment ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The City State of Berlin braved a choppy market on Monday morning to sell its first 10 year benchmark in two years. Leads were able to price the deal at the tight end of initial price thoughts, offering only a small new issue premium.

Lower Saxony sold a tap of seven year floating rate debt on Monday morning. The deal — aimed to take advantage of limited supply from German states recently — priced flat to the outstanding bonds, following on from similar successes last week.