Just one fifth of a point separated the top three scoring deals priced in the week beginning June 11. Issuers and lead managers had to contend with patches of volatility early in the week, as well as uncertainty around how an ECB meeting on the Thursday would leave market conditions the following week.
Expectations were high that the central bank would give some steer on how and when it expected to close down its public sector purchase programme. If the ECB’s announcement contained any surprises, it might have made it difficult to bring a decent benchmark ahead of the summer break.
The deal with the highest average deal scores was Cades’s €1bn 0.125% October 2023, which scored 7.8 across the five deal categories available for voting (timing, structure/maturity, pricing, quality of the investor distribution and performance). That deal took its top score in the quality of the investor distribution category.
Some bankers away from the deal said at the time of pricing that they had been expecting a larger size but the issuer and lead managers pointed out that Cades has a much reduced borrowing programme compared with previous years.
Next was a $2.5bn October 2020 print from Kommuninvest — its largest ever in dollars. Voters gave it an average score of 7.73. That deal had its highest scores in the timing and performance categories.
A €5bn five year from KfW scored 7.6 on average, with voters awarding it its top score in the performance category. The deal attracted orders of €7.3bn but a slower than usual book build suggested investors were a little nervy ahead of the ECB meeting.
European Stability Mechanism brought up the rear — although less than half a point behind the highest scorer — with an average mark of 7.43. Voters marked ESM down on timing and on pricing. But it had the highest score of any deal that week in the performance category.
