EUROBONDS: Spanish Agency In Primary Market, Indexes Tighten
Data: 16/12/2011 @ 15:45
There were no new deals in the European primary bond market Friday, but Spanish agency ICO has tapped its existing January 2014 bond, as sentiment improved and the cost of insuring European sovereign and corporate debt against default fell.
Spain's Instituto de Credito Oficial or ICO, guaranteed by Spain, priced its EUR1 billion tap of its 3.5% 2014 bond at 75 basis points over the corresponding Spanish government bond.
That takes the amount of the 2014 bond now outstanding to EUR2.1 billion. Credit Agricole SA and Bankinter SA were the lead managers on the sale.
Elsewhere, positive sentiment is largely due to economic data globally and market participants have appeared to brush aside ratings downgrades for several major banks. The success of Thursday's bond auctions also added to the positive tone and arrested the negative sentiment seen in the first few days of this week.
Overnight, Fitch Ratings cut the rating on six global banks amid market volatility and regulatory changes, but market sentiment wasn't dampened by the move. Bank of America, Barclays PLC, BNP Paribas SA, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank AG, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. all had their long-term ratings changed.
"These rating actions should not come as a major surprise given that Fitch's rating review had been ongoing for over three months and the downgrades just bring Fitch's bank ratings close into line with those of the other agencies," said Michael Symonds, credit analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets.
Despite the downgrades, the financial CDS markets moved in tandem with the tightening European CDS markets and not on sentiment around the downgrades.
The cost of insuring European banks against default fell Friday. At 1405 GMT, the iTraxx Europe Senior Financials index of 25 European banks and insurance companies was 6 basis points tighter at 307/312 basis points, according to data provider Markit.
The iTraxx Europe Sub index of subordinated bonds of the same entities was 10 basis points tighter at 546/558 basis points.
The SovX Western Europe index, which investors can use to buy or sell credit default swaps on a basket of 15 sovereign borrowers, was 10 basis points tighter at 362/368 basis points, according to data provider Markit.
Credit default swaps are derivatives that function like a default insurance contract for debt. If a borrower defaults, sellers compensate buyers.
The iTraxx Europe index, which comprises 125 high-grade borrowers, 25 of which are banks and insurers, was two basis points tighter at 183/184 basis points. The Crossover index of 40 mostly sub-investment-grade European corporate borrowers was six basis points tighter at 782/787 basis points.
-By Sarka Halas, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 207 842 9263;
[email protected]
(Ben Edwards in London contributed to this report)