MuniFin’s USD 1 billion benchmark loan oversubscribed despite challenging market conditions

MuniFin issued its second USD benchmark for the year 2015 on September 2. The one billion US dollar benchmark was the first USD benchmark following a period of volatile markets caused by the turbulence in China.

A day prior the books opened, the initial pricing thought was announced at +mid-teens basis points versus mid-swaps. There was encouraging interest in the market, but due to a slowish start in underwritings it was decided to maximize investor interest with opening the books at mid-swaps +17.

The 3-year benchmark was quickly oversubscribed and ended at nearly USD 1.1 billion. The coupon interest of the loan is 1.25 per cent.

– In treacherous market conditions, the success of this transaction reflects not only the quality of the MuniFin credit but also the nimble approach of the issuer. (…) It is an impressive example to other issuers of how to navigate challenging markets, says Alex Barnes, a Head of SSA Syndicate with CitiGroup.

The transaction had a broad geographical participation across Americas (30 %), Asia (27 %), EMEA (32 %) and the Nordics (11 %).

– MuniFin managed to issue an oversubscribed benchmark despite extremely challenging market conditions. This proves that the pricing was right, but is also a result of MuniFin’s strong credit ratings and excellent position in the international capital markets. Long-term IR commitment yields great results, says Esa Kallio, Executive Vice President and Head of Capital Markets at MuniFin.

After the completion of this transaction, MuniFin’s total funding for the year now stands at EUR 6.2 billion.

The lead managers of the benchmark were BNP Paribas, Citi, Daiwa and Nomura.