On March 15, 2016 MuniFin issued a 1bn euro benchmark maturing in October 2021. The transaction was MuniFin’s first euro benchmark in 13 years.
The coupon was fixed at a record low 0.1 percent with a re-offer yield of 0.122 percent. Despite the tight pricing, the benchmark was very attractive, with books closing in excess of EUR 1.6 billion.
The book was very granular with over 50 accounts participating from more than 15 jurisdictions. The demand was greatest in Europe, especially in Germany (20 %), France (16 %), the Nordics (15 %) and Benelux countries (9 %) and outside Europe in the Middle East (17.5 %) and Asia (10 %). The most important investor type that participated in the transaction were banks with a 50 per cent share, central banks and official institutions adding up to 38 per cent of the allocation. The share of asset managers and insurance and pension funds was 12 per cent.
– MuniFin’s mission is to ensure the availability of competitive financing for Finland’s municipal sector and government-subsidised housing production under all market conditions. To fulfil this, we actively strive to diversify our funding in different markets. We have consistently been building an investor base for example in the USD markets. With our growing funding needs, we also wanted to offer our investors a euro benchmark, says Executive Vice President Esa Kallio at MuniFin.
The lead managers were Barclays, Danske Bank, J.P. Morgan and Société Générale.
– The basis of MuniFin’s operations on the international capital markets are its stable and high credit rating. The investors also value MuniFin’s active investor relations work. These factors combined with the issuer’s ability to act fast in the markets were crucial for the benchmark’s success, says Samu Slotte, Head of DCM Finland at Danske Bank.
Further information:
Esa Kallio, Executive Vice President, MuniFin, tel. +358 50 3377 953
Joakim Holmström, Vice President and Head of Funding, MuniFin, tel. +358 50 4443 638
Samu Slotte, Head of DCM Finland, Danske Bank, +358 50 68 924