The World Bank today launched a public offering of Italian Lira bonds in the Euromarket. The Lire 600 billion offering (about US$ 480 million) is the largest single-tranche issue ever launched in this segment of the market. The 7-year Eurolira bonds, which have a bullet maturity, carry an 11-5/8 percent coupon and are priced at 101.45 percent for a contractual yield of 11.01 percent on a semi-annual equivalent basis. The bonds will mature on April 23, 1998.
The underwriting group, which is lead-managed by Banca Commerciale Italiana with Monte dei Paschi di Siena as joint lead-manager, consists primarily of banks from Italy and other European countries.
The proceeds of this issue will be swapped into US Dollars and Swiss francs which will be used in the general operations of the World Bank.
