The World Bank has announced the pricing of a five-year benchmark bond, raising USD 5 billion to support sustainable development activities in developing countries. The bond, which matures in October 2029, attracted over USD 11 billion in orders from 175 high-quality investors. These investors included bank treasuries, official institutions, and asset managers.
The lead managers for this transaction are Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs International, J.P. Morgan Securities, and The Toronto-Dominion Bank. The bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and offers a spread of +8.7 basis points over the reference US Treasury with a semi-annual yield of 3.933%.
Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank, commented on the success of the bond issuance: “The World Bank finances its sustainable development activities from borrowings like this USD 5 billion benchmark, and by leveraging equity from its members.” He added that the strong reception demonstrates "the importance of our strategy to bring to market high quality, liquid bonds in a variety of currencies and maturities.”
In terms of investor distribution by type, banks and corporates accounted for 47%, central banks and official institutions made up 29%, while asset managers and pension funds comprised 24%. Geographically, Europe/Middle East/Africa represented 49% of investors; the Americas accounted for 34%, and Asia contributed 17%.
Katrin Wehle from Deutsche Bank highlighted that "the transaction attracted top quality orders," while Dorothee Amar from Goldman Sachs praised the diverse orderbook as evidence of robust support from global investors. Sarah Lovedee from J.P. Morgan noted that "IBRD continues to enjoy one of the broadest USD investor bases in the SSA space." Paul Eustace from TD Securities emphasized that "TD is proud to have played a leading role" in this transaction.
The World Bank's Sustainable Development Bonds are aligned with guidelines set by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) to finance projects supporting both green and social initiatives within IBRD member countries.
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