Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten

A higher than expected UK inflation rate led to a sell-off in Gilts this week, a move that may put an end to what has been a remarkable run of traffic in sterling SSA bond issuance.

Japanese investors on the hunt for European SSA credit drove a flurry of long dated Australian dollar deals on Wednesday.

Japanese investors on the hunt for European SSA credit drove a flurry of long dated Australian dollar deals on Wednesday.

Buoyed by relief following a Dutch election in which Eurosceptic Geert Wilders’ hopes of forming a government were dashed, public sector borrowers are flocking back to capital markets.

The prospect of a far-right leader becoming president of France rocked government bond markets this week. It led to a rare pulled French agency deal and will cause the country’s banks problems with their own huge funding needs. But as other issuers in eurozone countries facing elections showed, the picture of the risks ahead is complicated. Craig McGlashan reports.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten showed that investors in its dollar bonds are not overly concerned about an upcoming Dutch general election, as it priced a bond on Wednesday that was just $250m short of its record size in the currency. More public sector dollar supply is set for Thursday, after Asian Development Bank hired banks for a five year global benchmark.

Two public sector borrowers had very contrasting fortunes with no-grow three year dollar bond issues on a volatile Tuesday.

The dollar bond market for public sector borrowers this week rounded off a spectacular January, with many bankers describing it as “perfect” and the best in five years.

A trio of issuers brought deals across the short end of the dollar curve on Wednesday, adding to what one SSA syndicate head described as the “ideal January”. Supply looks to have dimmed for now, with no deals on screen for Thursday and Chinese New Year holidays next week likely to halt benchmark issuance, but bankers believe conditions are so hot that arbitrage deals or floating rate notes could still break through.

While many of the main euro issuers have already scored their big January benchmarks, the pipeline of euro issuance is growing increasingly congested, although the range of maturities on offer should allow borrowers to avoid treading on each other's toes.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the progress European supranationals and agencies have made during the first three weeks of the year.

The UK Debt Management Office has picked the maturity and timing for a scheduled bond sale later this month. Elsewhere in sterling, a pair of issuers added deals to a bumper opening week that fell just short of a record.