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NextGenerationEU €20 billion bond issuance seven times oversubscribed

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3 years ago

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The European Commission reached a key milestone in the implementation of its recovery plan, by issuing €20 billion of debt to fund NextGenerationEU. The bonds were seven times oversubscribed despite the very modest level of interest at 0.1%. All in all, the EU will raise €800bn on the capital markets to fund what is hoped will be a transformative programme of investment across the continent. 

Commission President von der Leyen said: “This is the largest ever institutional bond issuance in Europe and I’m very pleased that it has  attracted very strong interest by a wide range of investors.”

Some have described Europe’s decision to issue bonds in this was as a ‘Hamiltonian moment’, Commissioner Hahns said: “I want to be a little bit more modest, concrete and self-confident by rather saying: this is a truly European moment, as it demonstrates the EU’s innovation and transformative power.”

How green does your garden grow?

Commissioner Hahn said that the EU would be issuing green bonds in the autumn. The EU will launch them once it has settled on its EU Green Bond Standard, this will double the current volume of green bonds in the market. Hahn compared it to the way the SURE bonds have tripled the social bond market. Green bonds will account for around 30% of the EU’s overall borrowing amounting to around €270bn in current prices.  

Persona non grata

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Asked about the decision of the European Commission to exclude certain banks from this round of issuance, Hahns said that though many of the banks had met the criteria to participate in the primary dealer network, there were outstanding legal issues that needed to be resolved. He said: “Banks have to demonstrate and to prove that they have taken all the necessary remedial action that has been demanded by the Commission,” but added: “We have a way interest to include all the key players and banks, which have qualified themselves for the primary dealer network but of course, the sort of the the legal aspects have to be respected.”

In May 2021, the European Commission found that several banks had breached EU antitrust rules through the participation of a group of traders in a cartel in the primary and secondary market for European Government Bonds (‘EGB’). Some of the banks involved were not fined because their infringement fell outside the limitation period for the imposition of fines. The fines on the others totalled €371 million.

Fund managers lead the table

The demand was dominated by fund managers (37%), and bank treasuries (25%) followed by central banks / official institutions (23%). In terms of region, 87% of the deal was distributed to European investors, including the UK (24%), 10% to Asian investors and 3% Investors from the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

Background

NextGenerationEU will raise up to around €800bn between now and  the end of 2026. This translates as borrowing of roughly €150bn per year, which will be repaid by 2058.

With the SURE programme the Commission issued bonds and transferred the proceeds directly to the beneficiary country on the same terms that it received (in terms of interest rate and maturity). This worked for small funding needs, but the size and complexity of the NextGenerationEU programme requires a diversified funding strategy. 

Multiple funding instruments (EU bonds with different maturities, some of which will be issued as NextGenerationEU green bonds, and EU-Bills – securities with a shorter maturity) and techniques (synidcation – usually preferred by supranational issuers, and auctions – usually preferred by nation states) wil be used to maintain flexibility in terms of market access and to manage liquidity needs and the maturity profile. 

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