Actualités
CEB issues GBP 500m 4.25% Benchmark due March 2026
04 janvier 2023
Transaction highlights:
- Council of Europe Development Bank’s (CEB) first GBP benchmark transaction of 2023
- Adding a new liquid point in CEB’s sterling curve, complementing the existing Dec-25, Sep-26 and Sep-27 maturities
PARIS - On Wednesday, 4th January 2022, Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), rated Aa1/AAA/AA+ (watch positive / stable / positive), priced a new £500m 3-year benchmark due 16 March 2026. The Joint Lead Managers on the transaction were BofA Securities, NatWest Markets and RBC Europe Limited.
In line with the issuer’s strategy over the past years, this transaction enhances the liquidity of CEB’s sterling curve with a 4th pricing reference in the curve. Of note, the new line constitutes the second bond for CEB in the 2026 segment, following the Sep-26 issue back in January 2022.
The issuer took advantage of a constructive market environment to announce its first syndicated transaction of the year on Wednesday 4th January at 9.50am CET, opening books with guidance of 82bps area over the January 2026 UKT.
The orderbook quickly attracted numerous high-quality investors despite the active primary market, enabling the issuer to release a first update at 11.50am CET, setting the spread at UKT+82bps on the back of orders in excess of £350m (excl. JLM interest). The orderbook continued to grow and reached £700m within the following 45 minutes, allowing CEB to fix the final size of the transaction at £500m.
Pricing occurred shortly after 2.00pm CET, offering an annual coupon of 4.25%, an annual yield of 4.255% and a reoffer price of 99.967%.
The success of the transaction was also illustrated by the final orderbook closing above £780m, the largest ever for a CEB sterling benchmark.
Of note, the issuance follows the recent approval of CEB’s strategic framework 2023-2027, which includes a strengthening of the CEB’s capital base with a €4.25bn subscribed capital increase (€1.2bn paid-in).
Investor distribution
By geography
UK: 58%
Asia/MEA: 30%
Europe: 12%
By investor type
Central Banks/Official Institutions: 49%
Banks: 38%
Fund Managers/Insurance: 13%
Fondée en 1956, la CEB (Banque de Développement du Conseil de l'Europe) compte 42 États membres, dont 22 pays d'Europe centrale, orientale et du Sud-Est formant les pays cibles de la Banque. En tant qu'instrument majeur de la politique de solidarité en Europe, la Banque finance des projets sociaux en mettant à leur disposition des ressources levées dans des conditions reflétant la qualité de sa notation (Aa1 auprès de Moody's, on review for upgrade, AAA auprès de Standard & Poor's, perspective stable, AA+ auprès de Fitch Ratings, perspective stable et AAA* auprès de Scope Ratings, perspective stable). Elle accorde des prêts à ses États membres, à des établissements financiers et à des autorités locales pour le financement de projets dans le secteur social, conformément à son Statut.
*non-sollicité