ICO launches a one-billion-euro bond issue

10 septiembre 2024

  • Notable interest was taken by international investors, who have acquired 77% of the issue
  • The demand generated by the operation has reached two billion euro, demonstrating the confidence investors have in ICO’s role

Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) (A/Baa1/A-/A from S&P/Moody's/Fitch/DBRS) launched a one-billion-euro public bond issue today with a six-year maturity.

The warm reception from the market is reflected in the operation's order book, which has tallied purchase requests amounting to two billion euros. This over-subscription has allowed the operation to close with a spread of 10 basis points over the Treasury benchmark at the same maturity, thus narrowing the starting price which had been set at 13 basis points. 

77% of the issue was placed with international accounts, with German and Asian accounts featuring prominently. The demand generated by this new operation shows the confidence the investor base has in ICO issued bonds.

The largest group of investors by type were banks, which accounted for 52% of the issuance, followed by central banks and official institutions with 29%, fund managers with 17%, and insurance companies and pension funds with 2% 

The transaction, which pays out a 2.7% coupon, was led by BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Agricole and Santander. DZ Bank, Helaba, and Jefferies participated as co-leads.

In 2024, ICO has raised 7.87 billion euros in medium- and long-term issues. ICO allocates these resources to the financing of projects and business activity of the self-employed, SMEs and Spanish companies in its role as a national promotional bank.