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On 20 January 2016, Belfius was voted ‘Nº 1 Bond Finance House of the Year’ for the third successive year by Euronext. This prestigious award was presented to Belfius at a ceremony attended by Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt and confirms the strategic role played by the bank in a constantly growing bond market.
As it has done in previous years, in 2015 Belfius Bank reconfirmed its leading role in the Debt Capital Markets with regard to bond issues conducted on behalf of Belgian issuers.
- Working within the group of public issuers, Belfius Bank placed bond issues for the French Community of Belgium, the Walloon Region, FIWAPAC, SRWT, Brussels Capital Region, the Brussels Regional Refinancing Fund of municipal treasuries, the German-speaking Community and the Flemish Community. In addition, the City of Ghent and the City of Mechelen again received guidance from Belfius Bank for their bond issues on the capital market.
- Belfius Bank also assisted four colleges and universities in taking their first steps as bond issuers on the capital market. This resulted in four successful placements, on behalf of Haute École Léonard de Vinci, the University of Mons, Namur University and VUB. These placements gave Belfius a 100% market share in this segment of the market in 2015. Additionally, in the semi-public segment, Belfius placed bonds forFINGEM.
- The Green Bond, set up and placed by Belfius Bank for Aquafin, was a first for a Belgian company.
- Belfius Bank also conducted a series of institutional private placements on behalf of Belgian companies: Atenor Group, Befimmo, Cofinimmo, Ghelamco Invest, Montea and Orpea Belgium. In the public Retail Bond market (retail investors), Belfius placed bonds for Tessenderlo Chemie and Vandemoortele.
- Belfius Bank also contributed to the successful placement of the Belfius Covered Bond and Penates 5, the first Belgian RMBS since 2007.
With a participation rate of 84% in 2015, Belfius Bank confirmed its position as market leader for the issue of bonds and treasury notes for customers in the (semi-)public sector. The bank also continued to create added value for Belgian companies seeking to diversify their sources of funding through the bond markets, achieving a participation rate of 37% in long term issues in 2015.
It is thanks to these achievements that Belfius Bank has now received the Euronext Award as the “N° 1 Bond Finance House 2015”. Belfius Bank would particularly like to thank its customers for their continued trust and confidence in Belfius Bank.
Press release (pdf) attached
