(Bloomberg) — Slovakia sold €2 billion of Eurobonds in a syndicated sale amid a declining risk premium after the government adopted a package of measures to curb the budget deficit.
Demand for the seven-year bonds exceeded €7.5 billion and the notes were priced at 70 basis points over midswaps, a tighter spread from the initial guidance of 90 basis points, according to terms from a person familiar with the transaction who asked not to be identified because the details haven’t been made public.
The sale is set to bring the euro-area member state’s total debt issuance — including domestic bond auctions — to nearly €13 billion so far this year, exceeding the initial target of about €10 billion.
Slovakia had its credit score downgraded by Fitch Ratings in December 2023 over “a deterioration in public finances and an unclear consolidation path.” Earlier this month, lawmakers approved a series of measures totaling €2.7 billion to reduce the budget shortfall, helping to push down the risk premium on the Slovak debt.
The extra yield investors demand to hold Slovakia’s 10-year notes over comparable German securities declined by more than 30 basis points from a June peak, to 1.01 percentage points on Tuesday.
Last week, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed Slovakia’s A+ score with a stable outlook, highlighting the government’s efforts to stabilize its fiscal position.
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