UK Sovereign

Gilts are profiting from safe-haven flows, said Robert Stheeman, chief executive of the UK Debt Management Office (DMO), which, this week, sold its first syndicated note of the 2019/20 funding year — a 6.5 times subscribed issue.

Large asset managers have urged the UK to start issuing green Gilts to support the country’s environmental initiatives and broaden the range of assets they can buy. Although the government's Green Task Force recommended the idea last year, there has been little progress since and the country’s Debt Management Office has shown little enthusiasm for the product, writes Burhan Khadbai.

A director for responsible investment at a large asset manager has written to the CEO of the UK Debt Management Office pleading the case for the country to start issuing green bonds, as recommended by a government inquiry last year.

UK government bonds could lose some of their stature as a risk-free investment and start to be treated more like credit products in the event that no breakthrough is made in Brexit negotiations, according to one portfolio manager.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) started its 2019/20 funding year with a bang on Tuesday, selling a six and a half times subscribed issue.

The World Bank printed its second Sonia linked note on Wednesday as part of efforts to build its Sonia curve. The supranational has now sold over £2.5bn of Sonia paper across two benchmark bonds since September 2018.

The UK Debt Management Office has chosen the tenor for the first syndication of its 2019/20 financial year, which is expected to come in the week commencing May 13.

The UK Debt Management Office has mandated four banks for the first Gilt syndication of its 2019/2020 financial year.

The Bank of England will publish the minutes of its policy meeting on Thursday, with investors and bank analysts aligned in thinking that a Brexit extension will see a small but noticeable move towards more hawkish language from the bank.

An SSA/EM origination banker at Barclays resigned from the bank on Tuesday.

MUFG has relocated 21 staff to Paris, including all its European DCM origination bankers, all its sales people who cover European investors and an MTN banker.

FTSE Russell is reviewing China for a potential upgrade under its framework for index eligibility, opening the door for onshore bonds’ inclusion in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI).