African Development Bank AfDB

The African Development Bank is sounding investors for its second ever social bond with an initial price thoughts level that bankers away from the deal felt was “fair”.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

The widening of the dollar Libor/Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) spread may be one of the biggest talking points in bond markets but it is wrenching open funding opportunities for public sector borrowers. The accompanying widening in dollar swap spreads led two issuers to break new issue records, writes Craig McGlashan.

The African Development Bank was awash with superlatives from SSA bankers watching on jealously as it printed a $2bn March 2021 global through mid-swaps on Wednesday. The supranational — like other SSAs in dollars this week — benefited from widening swap spreads that some analysts believe have further to go.

Public sector borrowers found buckets of dollar demand on Tuesday, as a French agency sold its largest ever benchmark in the currency and a supranational printed a trade at the upper end of its historical size range. Another supra is lined up to test whether that demand will hold on Wednesday.

This week's scorecard reveals how far progressed supranationals are in their 2018 funding plans as we hit the middle of February.

Rates in Australian dollars are compelling compared to most currencies, which has aided long-end demand and allowed for a bumper outing by a supranational this week.

Demand for SRI bonds and favourable basis swaps are boosting the Swedish krona market for SSAs, despite concerns late last year that the Swedish central bank’s tightening monetary policy and the krona’s appreciation against the dollar could stifle issuance. The European Investment Bank, Nordic Investment Bank and African Development Bank all came at the long end of the krona curve this week.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a syndicate of lenders have provided a $2.73bn loan to finance the construction of a railway and upgrade a port in Mozambique, which will ensure the long term supply of coal to Japan from the African country.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has added another name to its growing treasury team, with the hire again coming from a fellow supranational issuer.

The social bond market — though still nascent — is rapidly gaining momentum. Three public sector issuers made their debuts in the market this week, all of which met with enthusiastic approval from Europe’s community of dedicated socially responsible investors.

Three issuers launched social bonds on the same day on Tuesday, which is likely a first for the SSA market. They raised a combined €1.5bn across five, seven and 10 years, with two of the deals managing to make dramatic moves in pricing thanks to what one banker called "superb conditions".