The central bank's successful $250 million re-opening of its November 2005 bond issue yesterday Tuesday underlines continuing strong demand for the country's credit.
Representing the BSP's third tap in as many months, the latest offering has also created a $800 million issue whose liquidity should give an additional boost to spreads which have traditionally lagged those of the Republic. Partly as a result of a controversial Yankee bond of 1997 and partly because it is a less frequent borrower, the BSP can trade anywhere between 25bp and 75bp behind the sovereign.
The new deal, however, propels the central bank's issue into the ranks of the region's top 20 deals by size. Under the...