IFC Global Bond Raises $2.25 Billion For Private Sector Lending, Launches FY16 Borrowing Program

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today issued a $2.25 billion, five-year global bond as part of its regular program of raising funds for private sector development lending.

The issue generated an order book of $3.25 billion. The bond yields 1.705%. It priced at a spread of 16.2 basis points over U.S. treasuries, marking a solid start to IFC’s borrowing program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.

“IFC’s funding operations are core to our business. They generate the liquidity we need to maintain IFC’s strong financial position and meet the financing needs of our private sector clients in emerging markets,” said Jingdong Hua, IFC VP and Treasurer.  

“Thanks to IFC’s international triple-A credit rating and our standing as a premier global issuer, we have come back to the dollar market to very strong reception—amid the volatility we see in markets globally. The positive response from investors so early in our new financial year puts us on a very strong footing.”

Consistent with IFC’s practice, the proceeds of this issue will be swapped into floating-rate U.S. dollar funds that will be available for IFC investments in emerging markets. IFC has issued dollar-denominated global bonds each year since 2000 and last issued a global dollar bond in July 2014. All IFC bond issuances are rated triple-A by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

The transaction was lead managed by Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs International and Toronto Dominion.  

IFC plans to raise $17 billion across a range of markets and currencies during its current fiscal year. Borrowings denominated in U.S. dollars account for over half of IFC’s funding program, with a growing proportion of borrowings coming from emerging markets such as Brazilian real, Chinese yuan and Indian rupee. As well, IFC will continue to borrow in historically important markets such as the Australian-dollar Kangaroo market and the Japanese retail market.

IFC also issues discount notes in U.S. dollars and in the offshore Turkish lira and Chinese yuan markets; thematic bonds that support specific areas such as climate change; and local currency bonds to develop local capital markets and to fund local currency investments.

IFC Global Bond Summary Terms and Conditions
Issuer: IFC (International Finance Corporation, IFC)
Amount: US$2.25 billion
Settlement date: July 16, 2015
Maturity date: July 16, 2020
Issue price: 99.618%
Coupon: 1.625%
Denomination: USD 1,000
Listing: London Stock Exchange
Underwriters: Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs International, Toronto Dominion
 
IFC Global Bond Distribution of Orders
Investor Type    
Bank                                                     48%
Central Bank/Official Institution  47%
Fund Manager/Insurer                  5%              
 
Geography         
Americas                                  30%
Asia                                          32%
EMEA                                       38%