World Bank

SSA bankers looking to get their Christmas shopping in early were in a slight state of shock on Tuesday, as World Bank lined up a dollar deal to follow a Canadian province’s return to the currency after a six year hiatus.

The Turkish lira’s value has been battered by a chaotic political and economic backdrop but, with yields at their highest level since 2007, some MTN investors are opting to take the plunge.

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World Bank capped off a series of 10 year dollar benchmarks from SSA issuers, on Tuesday, with the tightest spread to mid-swaps and US Treasuries in the tenor for at least two years. But further benchmark issuance in the currency — other than a rumoured Canadian deal — is unlikely, with issuers well-funded and investors winding down for the year.

World Bank on Tuesday added to a spate of 10 year dollar benchmark issuance over the last few weeks and set a new pricing marker in the tenor as it printed at the tightest spread of the year.

World Bank will bring the latest test for a wall of dollars waiting to tumble into the SSA bond market, after mandating banks on Monday to bring a 10 year global benchmark. The trade could be the first jumbo 10 year dollar deal from an SSA in well over two years — and bankers away from the deal expect it to fly.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) tapped South African rand twice this week, amid rising yields in the currency. Elsewhere, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank both sold three lots of offshore renminbi, and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) returned to Hong Kong dollars.

This week's scorecard looks at the funding progress various supranationals have made in their programmes as the end of the year approaches.

Sir Richard Branson spoke with GlobalCapital’s Lucien Chauvin on Wednesday, after meeting Caribbean heads of government and leaders of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington. Branson is pushing for a Marshall Plan to help the Caribbean cope with the relentless onslaught of hurricanes, exacerbated by climate change.

Kenya’s largest power producer Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is looking to raise $300m in the loan market, which the World Bank is providing a $180m guarantee for.

The World Bank is working on new refugee bonds, GlobalMarkets can reveal, as Bangladesh put in a request for financial support to cope with the burdens of the influx of Rohingya Muslim migrants from Myanmar

Investment bank and research firm Exotix made two senior hires this week.