Spain
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The theme in the euro public sector market this week was large book sizes despite issuers paying very little concession, with Finland, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Madrid and the Joint Länder all keeping close to their curves. -
Several Spanish regions are expected to return to bond markets this year, having been locked out since the eurozone sovereign debt crisis. GlobalCapital understands that the Spanish government has approved a request for new debt to be issued by the Balearic Islands — a region that has not sold a bond since 2012. More approvals could follow in the next few weeks. Burhan Khadbai reports.
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Spain’s Bankia found a tight pricing level this week for the first benchmark tier two transaction of 2019. The bank is maintaining a higher than average stock of debt in the asset class, having not yet decided to issue non-preferred senior bonds.
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GlobalCapital understands that the Spanish government has approved requests from the Balearic Islands and Castile and Leon to issue new debt. More approvals could follow “in the next few weeks” for the Basque Country and Galicia, according to a DCM banker based in Madrid.
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All three public sector borrowers in the euro market on Tuesday received record order books, despite the spreads tightening by up to 5bp during pricing — which left little to no concessions for investors.
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Demand for corporate bonds is strong but it is at its strongest for green and hybrid debt, especially for deals that combine both qualities. On Tuesday, Spanish utility Iberdrola found similar demand for green hybrids to that which Engie and EDP had benefited from in January, and market participants are starting to revise their issuance forecasts for the asset class.
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Finland and Madrid hit screens on Monday to capitalise on the red hot appetite for euro sovereign supply in the 10 year part of the curve.
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Spanish telecoms company Telefónica on Monday launched the first green bond in euros from the telecoms sector. The firm, rated as one of Spain’s leading companies in the fight against climate change, published its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework in November but had to wait two months to sell its first green bond.
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Wider euro spreads versus swaps and Bunds had already led to some superstrong trades in the currency this year, but Spain outdid them all this week with the largest ever book for a public sector euro benchmark. Every other euro deal also attracted heavy oversubscription with minimal concession, paving the way for expected supply next week from a “large German agency in the short end” and a “central European sovereign in 10 years”, according to one head of SSA syndicate.
