KfW

SSA bankers breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday as the first euro benchmark from a core European agency of 2014 performed well despite looking a little sluggish during the morning’s business.

A pair of supranationals are set to launch Kangaroo deals in the middle of the curve this week, following a new five year deal in the format from KfW that is set to be priced on Wednesday.

KfW is looking into the possibility of selling its first socially responsible investment (SRI) bond since 2010 next year. The issuer is in discussions with bankers and investors over potential demand for a Green Bond.

KfW sold a short-dated syndication on Wednesday afternoon but tight pricing meant it fell shy of full subscription, SSA Markets understands. The deal takes the German agency to within a hair’s breadth of completing its funding requirement for the year.

KfW mandated banks for a new euro syndication on Tuesday afternoon, looking to capitalise on strong demand for short dated paper in the currency.

Network Rail is set to add to a spate of dollar issuance this week, mandating banks for a benchmark on Wednesday morning. It will follow KfW and the European Investment Bank, which announced mandates just after lower than expected US non-farm payroll numbers were released on Tuesday afternoon.

KfW and the European Investment Bank are set to end a drought of dollar benchmark issuance on Wednesday. KfW hired banks on Tuesday for a three year benchmark in the currency, while EIB has opted for a longer five year deal.

Read this week's funding scorecard to see which European supranationals and agencies are nearly done for the year, and which have room for another benchmark.

KfW became the second issuer to take advantage of the liquidity on offer in the belly of the euro curve this week, raising €5bn a day after the European Stability Mechanism pulled in nearly €21bn of orders to its debut benchmark. More borrowers are set to follow as issuers look to take advantage of buoyant conditions despite the looming deadline over the US debt ceiling negotiations.

Two peripheral sovereigns mandated in the wake of the European Stability Mechanism’s debut on Tuesday, as market tone in euros remained strong despite the clock ticking on the US debt ceiling negotiations and the government still in shutdown. Italy mandated banks for a debut seven year benchmark while Spain hired for a 30 year syndication.

Plenty of SSA issuers took a big bite out of their funding targets in the short window of issuance between the end of the summer and this week's FOMC meeting. Here we provide updated figures on selected European supranationals and agencies.

Province of Ontario is the latest issuer expected to bring a five year dollar deal next week, adding to a hefty SSA pipeline. There are also thought to be opportunities for long dated euro deals, with the Federal Reserve’s unexpected decision not to slow its asset purchasing programme causing a steepening in the euro curve.