World Bank Launches 2022 Funding Year with New 7 Year GBP Benchmark

Washington:The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) kicked off its new fiscal year with a 7-year British pound sterling (GBP) benchmark bond due July 2028. The Sustainable Development Bond raised GBP 1 billion from investors globally to support the financing of its sustainable development activities.

The bond offers an annual coupon of 0.625% and an annual yield of 0.685%. It was priced at +28 basis points over the 0.125% UK Gilt due January 2028. Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, and NatWest Markets are joint lead managers for the transaction. The bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Jingdong Hua, World Bank Vice President and Treasurer, said, “With what is usually a slow time in the summer for market activity, we were very pleased to see such strong investor participation in our first IBRD benchmark of the fiscal year. Much remains to be done as the global community continues to respond and recover from the pandemic and the World Bank remains at the forefront supporting member countries in their response. We thank investors for their support.”

The high-quality order book attracted over 40 investors. The majority of the transaction was placed with investors in the United Kingdom.