Republic of Iceland issues a new Eurobond at the lowest yields in the Republic´s history

The Republic of Iceland has today concluded agreements on issuance of bonds totalling EUR 500 million, or the equivalent of ISK 71 billion.

The bonds bear fixed interest of 0.1% and have a 5-year maturity, with a yield of 0.122%. This is the lowest yield in the history of the Republic. Investors showed strong interest in the issue, with total subscriptions around EUR 2,5 billion or five times the size of the issue. The broad-based investor group is comprised of central banks and other institutional investors, mainly from Europe. Barclays, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Nomura were joint managers for the issue.

Yesterday an offer of buy back of existing bonds of 750 million euros issued in 2014 expired. Owners of 60.5 million euros accepted the offer, in addition to those 398 million already tendered in December 2017. Owners that wished for got a priority allocation in the new bond.

“This issue is a confirmation on the recognition and trust of the strides Iceland has made in public finances and economic policy in the past few years, Treasury has never issued at more favorable rates,“ said Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Bjarni Benediktsson.

The issue was well received by investors with demand roughly five times the issue amount. „The issue is in line with Iceland´s Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy. This is an important milestone in promoting global capital market access for other domestic borrowers and opening up the markets for a more diversified group of foreign investors. Market conditions are favorable at the moment and we are very happy to lock in these terms for the next five years“, said Minister Bjarni Benediktsson.