| Headline: Quality issuers - We're dedicated followers of fashion Source: Euromoney Date: February 2000 Author: Michael Peterson Another year and the latest borrowing fashions are already on display. This year's look is big and liquid. Rather like last year's in fact, but even bigger. Are top-rated issuers getting carried away by the benchmark trend? By Michael Peterson
Remember jumbos? Those enormous, highly liquid bonds that would set a benchmark for years to come? In 1989 the first global bond, issued by the World Bank, was an earth-shattering $1.5 billion. Now big deals have become so commonplace that the word jumbo seems to have fallen into disuse. "This year we will see a few borrowers pushing the envelope in terms of size," predicts Niall Cameron, global head of fixed-income syndicate at ABN Amro. Even before the last of the millennium party debris was cleared away in the first weeks of 2000, there was a flurry of multi-billion dollar deals. Fannie Mae issued $6 billion of 10-year bonds and $4 billion of two-year paper. Freddie Mac brought a $6 billion five-year deal. The World Bank launched a $3 billion global. |