German Sovereign

Dr Jörg Kukies, State Secretary for Financial Market Policy and European Policy at the German Federal Ministry of Finance, speaks to GlobalCapital’s Managing Editor, Toby Fildes, on Covid-19, European policy and Germany’s financial markets.

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Three borrowers hit screens in sterling this week, giving the currency its biggest workout for months. Two returned to the market to take advantage of a more advantageous cross-currency basis swap but a third is taking a strategic approach.

Two sovereigns pulled off successful deals on Wednesday, adding to the pile of syndicated European government bond issuance this week.

After three eurozone sovereigns hit the primary market on Tuesday, more supply will follow on Wednesday with Germany setting its sights on its second syndicated transaction after returning to the format in May, helping it deal with a much bigger funding programme in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany is set to announce extra fiscal stimulus next week, a portion of which will be dealt with at regional level. But one state treasury official does not believe it will affect his Land's borrowing programme.

The International Finance Corp returned to the Australian dollar bond market to fund its response to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, while at the end of last week BNG capped the strongest month for SSA Kangaroo deals for over nine months.

KfW has made the first adjustment to its 2020 borrowing needs by doubling the size of its US commercial paper programme, with the Gerrman agency set to review its overall funding target at the end of June.

France impressed as it received a record €51bn order book and paid a small new issue premium with its first syndication since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sovereign was joined in the long end of the curve this week by two sub-sovereign borrowers as investor appetite for duration grows, with more supply expected to follow.

Germany would be wise to consider diversifying its colossal funding needs with a syndication in dollars — a currency in which it is no stranger and which has become more attractive for euro-based funders, according to a head of public sector debt capital markets at one of the sovereign’s primary dealerships.

France received its biggest ever order book as it came to the market for a 20 year syndication on Tuesday. SSA bankers say that investors are looking for duration after previously sticking to defensive maturities as the Covid-19 crisis eases.

Dollars was the favoured currency for public sector borrowers for the second week running this week, giving attractive funding conditions for euro borrowers amid strong investor demand, particularly in the 10 year part of the curve.