Washington, DC, September 30, 2014 – Today, the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, rated Aaa/AAA) priced a USD 4 billion 5-year global benchmark bond. The transaction was significantly oversubscribed with the order book quickly growing to over USD 5 billion, reflecting investor interest in highest quality borrowers and liquidity. Due to the positive response from investors around the world, the transaction was upsized from the initially targeted amount of USD 2 billion. With this successful global, the World Bank once again showed leadership by providing a product that caters to investors’ “flight-to-quality” demand in the challenging market environment.
The joint-lead managers are Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and TD Securities.
The 5-year global carries a semi-annual coupon of 1.875% and matures on October 7, 2019. It offers investors a yield of 1.906%, which is equivalent to a spread of 14.3 basis points over the 1.75% U.S. Treasury note due September 2019.
“This is a tremendous result and shows investor confidence in the World Bank and support for our sustainable development mission. The high quality order book reflects interest from different investor groups all over the globe, looking not only for safety, but also assets with high liquidity,” said Doris Herrera-Pol, Director and Global Head of Capital Markets at the World Bank.
| Investor Distribution | |||
| By Geography | By Investor Type | ||
Americas | 35% | Central Banks / Official Institutions | 49% |
Asia | 31% | Banks / Bank Treasuries / Corporates | 43% |
Europe | 33% | Asset Managers / Pension / Insurance | 8% |
Middle East and Africa | 1% | ||
Transaction Summary:
Issuer: World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD)
Issuer rating: Aaa/AAA
Amount: USD 4 billion
Settlement date: October 7, 2014
Coupon: 1.875%
Coupon payment dates: Semi-annually on April 7 and October 7 (first coupon on April 7, 2015)
Maturity date: October 7, 2019
Issue price: 99.853%
Issue yield: 1.906%
ISIN: US459058DW08
Listing: Luxembourg Stock Exchange
Clearing system: Fedwire, Euroclear, Clearstream
Joint lead managers: Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International, TD Securities
Senior co-lead managers: BMO, Jeffries, RBC, and RBS
Co-lead managers: Barclays, BNP Paribas, CIBC, Crédit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, Daiwa, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Scotia Capital, Société Générale, and Wells Fargo
“The World Bank’s dollar globals are major events for the market, attracting tremendous investor attention from across the globe. This deal was no exception, with an orderbook over USD 5 billion, achieving the richest 5-year SSA pricing since 2012,” said Philip Brown, Head of Public Sector Origination at Citi.
Joint Lead Manager Quotes:
“The World Bank has once again delivered an outstanding transaction. The impeccable execution while setting a new benchmark for pricing in the 5-year sector amidst a softer market backdrop is a testament to the World Bank's continuing capital market leadership. The breadth and depth of demand, shown in the high quality and geographically diversified book, have contributed to making the World Bank's first 5-year benchmark of their 2014-2015 funding year a noteworthy success," said Nigel Cree, Head of Public SSA Origination at Deutsche Bank.
This was yet another outstanding transaction from the World Bank, highlighting the continued strong investor support from a wide range of investor types across the globe. The size and quality of the orderbook enabled the World Bank to issue a new liquid new 5-year benchmark inside of initial price guidance,” said Lars Humble, Head of SSA Syndicate at Goldman Sachs International.
“This deal is another reminder of the enduring popularity of the World Bank name in USD. The World Bank continues to retain its premium pricing capabilities and appeal despite the more challenging market conditions. The World Bank picked a good issuance window in a tricky week and managed to issue a very successful transaction from both a pricing and size perspective," said Salvatore Aloisi, Director Fixed Income Origination and Syndication at TD Securities.
About the World Bank
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody’s/S&P), is an international organization created in 1944 and the original member of the World Bank Group. It operates as a global development cooperative owned by 188 nations. It provides its members with financing, expertise and coordination services so they can achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global economic and environmental problems. The World Bank Group has two main goals: to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. The World Bank (IBRD) seeks to achieve them primarily by providing loans, risk management products, and expertise on development-related disciplines to its borrowing member government clients in middle-income countries and other creditworthy countries, and by coordinating responses to regional and global challenges. The World Bank has been issuing sustainable development bonds in the international capital markets for over 60 years to fund its activities that achieve a positive impact. Information on bonds for investors is available on the World Bank Treasury website: (www.worldbank.org/debtsecurities).
