CEB issues GBP 750m 3.875% Social Inclusion Bond Benchmark due January 2029

Paris - On Monday 5 January 2026, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), rated Aaa/AAA/AAA (all stable), issued its second GBP-denominated Social Inclusion Bond benchmark.

Highlights

• The new GBP-denominated Social Inclusion Bond Benchmark is the CEB’s first public benchmark of 2026, with a total funding volume for the year projected to be up to EUR 7 bn.
• The CEB initially extended its Social Inclusion Bond franchise to the GBP market in January 2025 and this marks the CEB’s second Social Inclusion Bond issued in GBP to date.
• Following a constructive market open, the CEB successfully took advantage of the first GBP window of 2026 to capture cost-efficient funding levels versus other major currencies.
• The new GBP 750m Jan-29 Social Inclusion Bond benchmark strategically extends the CEB’s GBP curve. The 3-year tenor appealed to a broad array of investors due to the attractive ASW pick-up on offer in this sector.
• The high-quality, granular orderbook closed in excess of GBP 3.2 bn (incl. GBP 90m JLM interest) which represents the largest GBP orderbook on record for the CEB.
• CEB Social Inclusion Bond issuances now total over EUR 14.5 bn since their inauguration in 2017.

Deal details

• On Monday 5 January, with a stable market backdrop, the CEB announced a new GBP-denominated Social Inclusion Bond benchmark due January 2029 at 10:00 CET. Books were opened with initial guidance released at SONIA MS+36bps area.
• The transaction attracted robust investor engagement from the outset. With the high-quality book accelerating to above GBP 2.3 bn (incl. GBP 90m JLM interest), the issuer released final terms at 11:54 CET with the spread set 1bp tighter at SONIA MS+35bps. The transaction size was concurrently announced at GBP 750m, which represents the largest GBP benchmark issued by the CEB.
• The orderbook continued to grow and closed in excess of GBP 3.2 bn (incl. GBP 90m JLM interest) at 12:15 CET.
• The transaction officially priced at 15:04 CET, offering an annual coupon of 3.875%, an annual yield of 3.893%, a reoffer price of 99.950% and a spread of +13.77bps against the UKT 0 ½ 01/31/29.

Distribution statistics

By geography
Asia: 13.9%
EMEA (Exc. UK): 12.3%
UK: 73.8%

By investor type
Banks: 66.8%
CB/OI: 21%
FM: 12.2%

For full technical details of the transaction, please click here.