World Bank

The World Bank is targeting $50bn-$60bn of funding for its 2019/20 funding year, which began on July 1, and will keep busy during the summer.

A cavalcade of “familiar names” have come to the market over the last week. SSAs, corporates and FIG issuers printed across the euro curve, while a trio of supranationals were also active in emerging market currencies.

A trio of supranational and agency names headed out into niche currencies this week, as other SSA names say non-core currencies will be their focus for the rest of the year.

L-Bank issued its biggest single bond in dollars this week while the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) printed its first ever dual tranche trade in the currency. But some market participants warned that the good times at the short end of the dollar curve might be coming to an end.

World Bank hit the Canadian dollar market on Wednesday to begin its 2019/20 benchmark funding programme. It followed the European Investment Bank and KfW which have also been active in non-core currencies this week.

The World Bank is rolling out a rating system for infrastructure projects in a bid to attract greater investment into more resilient schemes that could save poorer countries as much as $390bn a year in disruption costs.

This week’s funding scorecard looks at the progress supranationals have made in their funding programmes as we hit the middle of June.

Finance for climate-related projects in emerging and developing countries provided by the world’s five largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) hit an all-time record of $43.1bn in 2018.

Three SSA borrowers issued a total of £200m ($255m) of medium-term notes in response to an inquiry for three year non-call one fixed rate sterling bonds on Tuesday — which probably all sold to the same buyer — amid an uptick of paper in the currency.

In this round-up, US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin called the talk with Chinese central bank governor Yi Gang ‘candid’ on Twitter, the Mainland warned domestic tourists and students against planning trips to the US, and both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered predictions for Chinese GDP growth thanks to trade tensions.

A trio of agencies and an infrequent issuer have printed long dated paper in MTN euros this week, and there has also been long end corporate interest in Swedish kronor.

Emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) are at risk of a financial crisis as mounting debt levels are making them vulnerable to an economic shock, the World Bank warned this week.