LONDON: The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) said on Monday it had mandated Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland for a new five-year euro benchmark bond.
Initial price thoughts have been set at mid-swaps plus high teens, a banking source said. Books are likely to open on Tuesday, subject to market conditions, the source added.
The EFSF, rated Aa1/AA+/AAA, raised market eyebrows in December when it announced a sharp increase in its scheduled long-term bond issuance for 2013 from EUR45bn to EUR58bn.
However, a blow-out EUR6bn seven-year syndicated deal earlier this month showed that the emergency fund currently has no trouble in raising money in European capital markets.
