KfW

Following a busy period in which KfW and Nordic Investment Bank priced deals, African Development Bank (AfDB) was the sole issuer to hit the market this week for a benchmark deal in dollars.

The African Development Bank was unable to tighten pricing from guidance on its first benchmark of the year on Wednesday, which bankers away from the deal put down to a difficult market backdrop.

The SSA market has seen a steady stream of activity across the euro and dollar markets this week. The European Stability Mechanism priced the week’s biggest deal on Tuesday, printing €4bn in 10 and 40 year tenors. Meanwhile African Development Bank led the charge in dollars, preparing to print a $1bn no-grow in its first benchmark deal of the year.

The African Development Bank is set to bring its first benchmark of 2016 in what is proving to be a quiet week for dollar deals.

KfW

KfW this week printed its widest five year KfW dollar benchmark since 2009 as negative swap spreads took their toll on pricing despite an improving macroeconomic backdrop.

Nordic Investment Bank has printed the second dollar benchmark from an SSA this week, as issuers contend with the effects on pricing of negative swap spreads.

Nordic Investment Bank is preparing a three year dollar benchmark, following a KfW five year deal that had to brave a backdrop of negative swap spreads.

KfW hit screens with a five year dollar benchmark on Tuesday that is offering the issuer’s widest swap spread at the tenor in several years, which bankers away from the mandate attributed to negative swap spreads and market-wide volatility last week.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the funding progress of European supranationals and agencies

KfW has made an internal promotion to replace its former head of new issues Petra Wehlert, who became head of capital markets at the German agency on February 1.

Bankers say that five years appears to be the right point in euros in a week in which a raft of issuers hit the books.