World Bank
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The World Bank made a brave foray into uncharted territory this week, printing a 30 year euro benchmark. Unfortunately for the supranational, the trade met with sharp criticism over its price, and speculation abounded that the deal had not been fully subscribed. -
There were no fireworks as the World Bank issued its longest ever euro benchmark on Wednesday, with the last book update showing a lower volume of orders than the deal size.
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The International Development Association (IDA) is preparing to issue its first euro benchmark, holding an investor call on Tuesday. The World Bank, IDA's sister issuer, is set to come to market on Wednesday for its longest ever euro benchmark.
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SSA issuers turned towards niche currencies this week to meet a range of demand across the Australian and Canadian dollar curves. KfW and the Asian Development Bank started the week printing in Australian dollars, before the World Bank joined them in the currency while also returning to the Maple market.
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A trio of supranationals harnessed a lack of sterling supply to reopen the market this week. The World Bank brought the first fixed rate supranational deal since August, while the Asian Development Bank and European Investment Bank both reopened Sonia-linked notes.
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The Asian Development Bank joined the syndicated sterling issuance run started by the European Investment Bank earlier this week, pricing a £300m tap of its March 2024 Sonia-linked note on Wednesday. The World Bank looks set to follow with a fixed rate tap on Thursday that bankers feel could give a good indication of the market’s appetite for the format amid volatility.
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Issuance is starting to resume after the summer break; however, this week a booming public market drew away investor and issuer attention from MTNs. Despite this, a range of established SSA, FIG and corporate borrowers have slipped in, with deals across core, niche and EM currencies.
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The World Bank is planning to add fully digital cash settlement, multiple currencies and more nodes to its ‘bond–i’ platform, according to a banker involved in developing the blockchain system. Earlier this month, the supranational added tap functionality, as it raised A$50m ($33.7m) of capital.
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Europe’s candidate to take over as the next head of the International Monetary Fund received a boost this week after the body’s executive board called for the age limit to be raised and hopes receded of a rival candidate stepping forward.
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The World Bank was one of a bevy of SSA dollar issuers raising a total of $8.4bn this week, with most of the trades indicating that investors coming back from the summer were having to decipher a completely different market to the one they left.
