STERLING

摘要

German state-guaranteed development bank kfw jumped in ahead of the FOMC announcement on Tuesday with a tap of its 1% December 2017 sterling bonds in abid lock in attractive rates. "The end of the year is a prime time for issuing in sterling for coupon repayment purposes, and the rates in the currency for KfW were very attractive," a lead banker said. "There's a lot of UK fund managers who are hungry for good short-dated defensive paper towards year-end." The Triple A rated issuer on Tuesday morning set guidance of 33bp area over the September 2017 Gilt for a £200m addition. The spread was later set in line at 33bp over, and the tap priced in an increased £350m size. "Demand was driven by investors wanting to put cash to work on a good credit, while the bond being eligible for ECB repo guidelines also helped fill the order book," the lead said.