WestLB Places Second Benchmark Issue
WestLB today issued a senior unsecured bond in the benchmark format. The issue has a volume of € 500 million and a term of five and a half years. The
4% coupon, in particular, attracted over 90 institutional and private investors. In addition to the substantial order volume from Germany, 37% of the issue was placed abroad. At almost 65%, banks, savings banks and retail investors were the largest investor group, followed by funds and insurance companies with approximately 30%. The price was fixed at the lower end of the guidance at mid swaps + 115 basis points. The members of the consortium included BayernLB, Commerzbank, DZ Bank, UBS and WestLB.
Following the August launch of a 3-year benchmark bond and its subsequent increase from € 750 million to € 1 billion one month later, WestLB is now responding to investor demand for longer maturities. “The high degree of acceptance among domestic and foreign investors, together with the large proportion of low-volume purchase orders, demonstrate the strong confidence shown by investors in WestLB,“ says Klemens Breuer, the WestLB Managing Board member responsible for the Capital Markets business. “The new benchmark issue improves our maturity profile. The balanced funding structure provides the basis for meeting our target clients´ funding needs even more effectively.”
The issue is the second senior unsecured bond of the Bank in the benchmark format since the abolition of the state guarantees in July 2005. Having concluded its funding programme for 2009 already at the end of September, today´s issue constitutes a major element of the Bank´s funding plans for 2010.