Returning from a short summer break, MuniFin issued its second EUR benchmark of the year on Thursday, 22 August. The successful 5-year, EUR 1 billion benchmark attracted a high-quality and geographically diverse orderbook.
MuniFin announced a new mandate on Wednesday, 21 August 2024, and opened the books the following morning. Investor demand grew steadily, and the books eventually closed in excess of EUR 1.35 billion at 12:45 CET. The final spread was confirmed at MS+17bps.
The orderbook comprised high-quality investors, with central banks and official institutions taking 42.9% of the allocations, followed by banks at 35.4%. In terms of geography, distribution was well diversified across Europe and Asia.
“Euro benchmarks are the backbone of our funding programme. Our second EUR benchmark of the year had high investor quality, and we are pleased to have achieved our desired pricing point in 5-year maturity. Thank you to all investors who participated and our lead managers for this successful transaction”, says Antti Kontio, Head of Funding and Sustainability.
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team on another successful EUR benchmark transaction. With this trade MuniFin have reopened the post summer market for their Nordic SSA peers and have set the standard for competitive pricing and high-quality diversified demand. NatWest are proud to have been involved”, said Karen Manku, Director, SSA DCM, NatWest Markets.
With this transaction, MuniFin has now completed approximately 70% of its EUR 9 billion long-term funding target for the year.
Transaction details
| Issuer | Municipality Finance Plc (“MuniFin”) |
| Issue rating | Aa1 / AA+ (Moody’s / S&P) (all stable) |
| Issue amount | EUR 1,000,000,000.00 |
| Pricing date | 22nd August 2024 |
| Settlement date | 29th August 2024 (T+5) |
| Maturity date | 29th August 2029 |
| Re-offer price/Yield | 99.431% / 2.623% |
| Annual coupon | 2.5000% |
| Re-offer spread | Mid-swaps +17bps |
| Spread vs benchmark | OBL 2.5% Due October 2029 +47.8bps |
| ISIN | XS2889897885 |
| Joint Lead Managers | DZ Bank AG, J.P. Morgan SE, NatWest Markets N.V., Société Générale |
Distribution by type
Distribution by region
Comments from Joint Lead Managers
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team for a strong return to the EUR market post summer break. DZ Bank is very proud to be part of MuniFin`s fixed rate EUR 1bn 5yr transaction which priced just 10bp back of Finland. The number and quality of investors fosters MuniFin’s reputation in the SSA market.”
Philipp Bergmann, SSA – DCM Nordics
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team for their successful return to the EUR market since January with a well-executed 5-year benchmark transaction. As the first Nordic agency issuer to access the market post-summer, the high-quality orderbook and demand underscore MuniFin’s robust credit standing and market leadership. We are delighted to be involved in this landmark transaction.”
Ioannis Rallis, Executive Director, Head of SSA DCM, J.P. Morgan
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team on another successful EUR benchmark transaction. With this trade MuniFin have reopened the post summer market for their Nordic SSA peers and have set the standard for competitive pricing and high-quality diversified demand. NatWest are proud to have been involved.”
Karen Manku, Director, SSA DCM, NatWest Markets
“With this new successful Euro 5y transaction, MunFin has not only added a new liquid benchmark to it Euro curve, it has also shown agility in picking the right window, and managed to mobilize international investors across several continents post the summer lull. The book built steadily in quality despite a pretty tight spread versus its sovereign counterpart. It confirms the strong value of MuniFin as a borrower in the international capital markets.”
Olivier Vion, Head of SSA Capital Market at Société Générale
Read more
MuniFin’s second USD benchmark of the year attracted high-quality investors
Further information
Joakim Holmström
Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Sustainability
+358 50 4443 638
Antti Kontio
Head of Funding and Sustainability
+358 50 3700 285
Karoliina Kajova
Senior Manager, Funding
+358 50 5767 707
Lari Toppinen
Senior Analyst, Funding
+358 50 4079 300
Aaro Koski
Senior Analyst, Funding
+358 45 1387 465