World Bank

Despite a crash in dollar swap spreads as the US Treasury announced a record borrowing binge this week, SSA bankers remain bullish on supply, with KfW rumoured to be plotting a return to dollars after leaning heavily on euros for its benchmark funding this year.

A slide in euro and dollar MTN volumes has given Scandinavian banks the chance to propel themselves up the MTN leader board.

Improving the transparency of debt and investment in emerging and developing countries will be even more important to improve the long-term sustainability of lending in the wake of the urgent need for countries to secure financing to fund initiatives to tackle the pandemic and deal with its economic impacts, World Bank president David Malpass said on Friday.

The World Bank followed up Wednesday’s record breaking dollar deal with another one for the record books on Thursday, scooping up Skr11.5bn ($1.2bn) in the Swedish krona market to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Banks and other private creditors are under pressure to follow the lead of the Group of 20 nations and suspend debt service payments by the poorest countries, as lobby groups urged world leaders to go further and cancel outstanding loans. Phil Thornton reports.

Rating: Aaa/AAA

The World Bank's treasury team has had a busy week, raising almost $15bn in three days, including the largest ever SSA dollar benchmark on Wednesday.

World Bank made the most of the recovery in market conditions to print the largest ever SSA dollar benchmark on Wednesday, raising $8bn.

The World Bank made a swift return to the market on Tuesday as it prepares to sell a five year global sustainable development bond after updating investors on its plans to tackle the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bondholders appear to be sleepwalking over the precipice of a debt standstill chasm as the fissure of the emerging markets funding crisis yawns wider by the day. The IMF and World Bank have called for a suspension of debt payments to official and private creditors but there is scant evidence that the latter are alive to that possibility becoming a reality. Ross Lancaster, Phil Thornton and Oliver West report.

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is the latest emerging market to approach international financing institutions for help to deal with Covid-19.

More than 100 charities and other organisations are urging that developing countries' debt payments be cancelled this year. They have called for interest and principal payments to be withheld from public and private sector lenders.