FREDDIE MAC reached another milestone this week by issuing an inaugural $2bn 30 year global Reference Bond as a proxy for US Treasury bonds, as well as announcing it will now hold weekly internet auctions of one, two, three, six and 12 months Reference Bills. The 30 year global, led by CSFB, Lehman Brothers and Salomon Smith Barney, attracted strong US and international demand, despite being launched at a spread of 69bp, on top of Fannie Mae's 30 year issue and several basis issue points tighter than where 30 year agency paper was trading earlier in the week.
November 19, 1999