Greece draws 3 bln euros from 30-year bond amid huge demand
Greece drew 3 billion euros from the issue of a new 30-year bond on Wednesday, securing considerable demand for the issue that came on the back of the unexpected upgrading of the country’s credit outlook to “Positive” by Standard & Poor’s last Friday.
The Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) announced on Wednesday that the issue received offers in excess of €33 billion, leading to a reduction of the interest by 15 points from the original guidance.
The interest rate on the coupon issue ended up much lower than originally predicted, at roughly 4.15% instead of 4.30%. Therefore Greece borrowed the maximum amount it had scheduled for the issue.
Running the book for the new syndicated issue were BNP Paribas, Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Piraeus Bank.
National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis stated that “the issuance of a 30-year bond, which PDMA proceeded with today, is an important success for the country and another vote of confidence investors in the prospects of the Greek economy. In a period of international geopolitical uncertainty, the Greek edition was 11 times oversubscribed as investor bids exceeded €33 billion, while the interest rate was set at a level that certifies the investment grade and compares directly to the corresponding interest rates of other countries of the eurozone.”
He added that “today’s success reflects, among other things, the positive assessments of the international community rating agencies, which in turn are based on prudent fiscal policy, which the Greek government implements and will continue to implement consistently.”
The last time the Greek state had borrowed through a 30-year bond issue was in 2021, while the last occasion it tapped the markets with a bond issue was in January, when it had raised €4 billion, while attracting bids amounting to €35 billion.
In total, Greece aims to borrow €10 billion for the entire year.
