Nomura
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The US Federal Home Loan Banks system has become the latest borrower to print bonds linked to Sofr, the planned replacement benchmark for dollar Libor. -
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Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) will look to fill the €1bn-€1.5bn it has left to raise this year with its annual water bond benchmark and potentially a short end benchmark. That is in keeping with the wider SSA market, where bankers expect socially responsible investment (SRI) issuance to form the bulk of this year’s final trades.
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The European Financial Stability Facility has opted to tackle a part of the euro curve where KfW found substantial demand last week, with a trade that SSA bankers said should provide a steer on the health of the euro market. There was one positive sign for the sector on Monday, as a Dutch agency increased the size of an SRI bond from its initial target.
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A megayacht of a trade from KfW this week suggested that potential headwinds — including the end of quantitative easing, Italy’s reckoning with the European Commission and Angela Merkel’s plan to step away from politics — are failing to sink sentiment in the euro market. But some SSA bankers warned that the trade was more just proof that KfW can float in these conditions — and that an upcoming deal for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will be a better buoy for the sector’s currents.
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The Netherlands plans to join the burgeoning list of sovereign green bond issuers and could become the first triple-A rated country in the group. Whether the bond will be via syndication or the country's preferred auction method has yet to be decided. Meanwhile, two of the country’s public sector SRI borrowers were busy in the format this week.
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Japan Bank for International Cooperation took advantage of the lack of competing supply and good demand in dollars to suck $3bn out from the primary market on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Province of Alberta has mandated banks for its third benchmark of the year.
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development returned to the sterling market on Tuesday to sell the first benchmark of its 2019 funding programme.
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Investors were in defensive mode in the dollar market this week as they snapped up short dated trades and floating rate notes, with demand particularly heavy from central banks and official institutions. Bankers are hopeful that benchmark supply will return next week.
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Public sector borrowers could bring dollar benchmarks next week ahead of the limited funding windows of November. Floating rate issuance was the main play in the sector this week, with Municipality Finance falling just short of full subscription as it brought the latest in the format on Thursday.
