The inclusion of UNEDIC on MTS France underscores the issuer's commitment to ensure market liquidity for their bonds and MTS' commitment to building liquid markets across the spectrum of French issuers. To date, eight market-makers: BNP Paribas, CA-Indosuez, CDC-Ixis, Dresdner KW, Lehman Brothers, Natexis BP, Société Générale and UBS have pledged their support to quote UNEDIC's issue.
Eric Brossard, Chief Financial Officer of UNEDIC said: "The success of the deal, which marks our return to the bond market, was based on three fundamental factors: the quality of the UNEDIC signature, the similarity of its signature to that of the State and the liquidity offered." The listing of the UNEDIC security on MTS France also makes it immediately available for trading on BondVision, the MTS Group's multi dealer-to-client market, ensuring its distribution to institutional investors.
Denis Prouteau, Sovereign, Supras & Agencies Originator at CDC-Ixis Capital Markets, which acted as one of the lead managers on the UNEDIC offering said: "It is only logical that UNEDIC should find itself listed not only alongside government securities, but also amid the ranks of CADES and ERAP issues. Thanks to its inclusion on MTS France and BondVision, UNEDIC investors are offered every guarantee of future market liquidity."
"We welcome UNEDIC's move to ensure transparency and liquidity by listing their bond on MTS France and BondVision," said Patrick Barbe, Head of European Fixed Income at BNP Paribas Asset Management. "The availability of new issues through BondVision, which allows institutional investors to access the deep and continuous liquidity of leading market makers active in the MTS Markets, guarantees an easy pricing and efficient execution to better support our portfolios strategies."
Record high daily trading volume of €522 million (single-counted) was recently achieved on MTS France's non-sovereign segment. Further, state-guaranteed issuer ERAP, now boasts a total 12 market-makers for its three lines on MTS France, following a market-making pledge from Citigroup in mid September. Meanwhile, MTS France volumes continue to see steady growth with €162.6 billion traded in August, up 27% from the same period 1 year ago.
