Debt Management
Hong Kong's first Islamic bond raises $1bn
Five-year sukuk sells at ‘tightest spread ever achieved’ over US Treasuries; strong demand from across the globe sees orders in excess of $4.7 billion
IMF economist analyses effect of floods and storms on Caribbean debt-to-GDP
Both storms and floods have a negative effect on growth, IMF economist finds, but only floods affect debt in the natural disaster-hit region
Bank of Ghana admits monetising government debt
Central bank offers relief as investor flight drives sovereign bond yields to spike; ‘printing money to finance the deficit' will cause inflation and currency depreciation, Fitch warns
EU sovereign debt managers fall in line with two-day settlement rule
EU member states' treasuries will settle over-the-counter sovereign bond transactions in a maximum of two days from October this year
Turkey’s pursuit of output-based models
The Central Bank of Turkey has shifted from using input-based approaches to output-oriented models for budgeting purposes in a bid to optimise its use of public resources. By Eyup Kahveci.
Anti-capitalist group claims responsibility for Bank of Greece bombing
The ‘Revolutionary Struggle', a terrorist group that the Greek police claimed to have dismantled in 2010, says it was behind the attack that injured two on April 10
Frontier bonds find buyers as investors reach for yield
Pakistan sells $2 billion worth of Eurobonds as investors look for alternatives to US Treasuries; Greece and Swaziland among countries to find success with bonds in own currency
RBA’s Debelle sees mixed future for bond markets
Guy Debelle says corporate bond issuance will remain ‘subdued’ in the near term as large Australian companies have ‘accumulated significant cash balances’
HKMA and Bank Negara Malaysia combine to promote sukuk market
Central banks in Hong Kong and Malaysia working together to promote Islamic finance; Hong Kong government nears $500 million sukuk issuance
Countries in monetary union should index sovereign debt to GDP growth
Bank of England working paper finds GDP-indexed bonds should be used more widely, especially by countries with volatile GDP growth or in monetary unions
Ukraine wins EU rescue package as finance ministry threatens debt restructure
European institutions will come up with €11 billion over the next five years; European Commission proposes international donor co-ordination mechanism
IMF paper finds highly indebted nations can still grow fast
Results of a new study contradict findings of Reinhart and Rogoff, who argued that growth declines at debt of more than 90% of GDP
German debt office poised to collateralise swaps
Pending 2014 budget would allow Finanzagentur to post up to €8 billion in collateral
Zimbabwe central bank aims to regain LORL and rate-setting powers
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe set to offer overnight lending to banks at a rate based on government debt yields from the end of March; will also begin issuing government treasuries
Central Bank of Venezuela seen in debt reshuffle
The central bank will reportedly buy securities from the country's mining corporation with debt accumulated from the state-owned oil company
Central Bank of Iceland to offload Kaupthing bonds acquired in the crisis
The bank will sell $860 million worth of covered bonds issued by Kaupthing Bank before the financial crisis over the next five years
RBA's Stevens says exchange rate disconnected from fundamentals
RBA governor Glenn Stevens says Australia's current exchange rate is not supported by the country's relative levels of costs and productivity
Central Bank of UAE set to bolster ‘under-developed' local bond market
UAE has looked to economies with strong trade balances as role-models to help develop a domestic bond market; may issue government debt in the coming years
Central Bank of Ireland diverges from Basel III on AFS bonds
Irish bank capital numbers would filter out unrealised gains and losses on government bonds
Japan’s ministry of finance issues inflation-indexed JGBs after five-year absence
First linker issuance in Japan since 2009 is 3.7 times oversubscribed but success of future auctions will depend on the Bank of Japan’s ability to deliver 2% inflation
Australian sovereign bond market infrastructure developments analysed
Reserve Bank of Australia article provides an overview of the CBS market and assesses recent changes in the market infrastructure
Kenyan governor urges bond market reform
Njuguna Ndung’u calls for a wider trading platform in the secondary market to incorporate OTC products; criticises the ‘slow pace’ of reforms so far
ECB relaxes collateral rules to include more ABS
ECB changes rules on acceptable collateral to include asset-backed securities with two single A ratings; haircuts on ABS are also cut
Paper finds global beats local in determining short-run sovereign bond spreads
Global factors tend to drive spread changes particularly during periods of severe market stress