KfW

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, January 18. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

KfW printed its first green bond in South African rand this week, reflecting the growth in demand for sustainable products outside of core currencies, according to a funding official at the agency.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, January 11. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

A senior funding manager at KfW who was responsible for leading the borrower’s sterling and dollar deals, has left the German agency.

MTN issuance out of Asia and Sweden provided some of the week’s bright spots in what was otherwise a quiet start to the year. With the public market now in full swing, bankers expect the private placement market to get up to speed in the coming weeks.

Public sector borrowers soaked up huge demand in the euro market on Tuesday including the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which printed its biggest ever 100 year bond despite offering a yield of less than 1%.

KfW and Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) achieved strong results in sterling on Tuesday despite extremely volatile conditions in the currency as a result of uncertainty around the impact of Brexit and the rising cases of coronavirus in the UK, which has affected swap spreads and the cross-currency basis swap for non-UK borrowers.

The European Investment Bank became the first borrower to tap the sterling market in 2021 on Monday, while KfW is set to follow on Tuesday. While the opening deal went well, the issuers had to contend with some sharp volatility.

The V20 group of finance ministers from countries especially vulnerable to climate change has prepared a Climate Prosperity Plan — analogous to a green new deal — which it hopes will help member countries devise 10 year investment plans to recover from Covid-19 while becoming more climate-resilient.

KfW plans on extending its euro benchmark bond curve by adding a new 15 year line in 2021 in response to increasing demand from investors for longer tenors.

This week's funding scorecard looks at the progress Europe's supranationals and agencies have made in their funding programmes as we approach the end of 2020, with most issuers also setting their funding targets for 2021.