Bond Issuance From Italy Sees Slowest Start Since 1997
LONDON – Italian bond issuers have had their slowest start to a year since 1997, with the volume of bonds sold so far also about three-quarters less than in 2011, according to data from Dealogic.
The Italian debt capital market has seen the equivalent of $5.9 billion worth of bonds sold in 2012, down 76% from the same period last year and the lowest since $4.9 billion was raised in 1997.
Bond issuance from peripheral European countries in general has been depressed by the sovereign debt crisis due to the skepticism of investors to entrust money there, as well as increased borrowing costs for companies and banks in the region.
While peripheral issuers were absent from the around EUR50 billion of bonds sold in the first two weeks of 2012, a better tone across financial markets helped issuance pick up over the last few weeks, analysts noted.
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) sold a EUR1.5 billion senior unsecured bond on Jan. 31, the largest deal from Italy this year, Dealogic said.
As for corporates, both ENI (E) and Atlantia (ATL.MI) have issued debt in the last few weeks.
Italian non-financial companies have accounted for 48% of debt issued from the country, the highest proportion since 1992, while financial companies have accounted for 40%.