Greece mandates investment banks for new 10-year bond issue

Greece mandated investment banks Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Eurobank to jointly lead manage the issue of a new 10-year bond, its debt agency (PDMA) said on Tuesday.

“The syndicated transaction will be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions,” the debt agency said without providing details on the size of the issue.

Greece has said it plans to borrow 8-12 billion euros this year, as it seeks to maintain a continuous presence in international debt markets. It wants to reduce a debt-to-GDP ratio estimated at 208.9% in 2020 and preserve an adequate cash buffer.

Greece last sold 10-year paper in September 2020, which was priced to yield 1.21%-1.23%. Earlier this month Greece raised 2 billion euros ($2.43 billion) by reopening a 30-year bond through a private placement with two Greek banks, the first borrowing action for 2021. [Reuters]