The coronavirus crisis prompted the Belgian Treasury to issue additional debt securities. In just a few days, BNP Paribas Fortis and four other Primary Dealers launched a new government bond on the institutional investment market.
Treasury certificates and government bonds (known as OLOs) are an important source of financing for the Belgian State. They offer investors the possibility to lend money to the country in exchange for periodic interest. At the end of December last year, the Treasury assumed it would have to issue debt securities worth €30 billion in 2020. That would happen via an increase in the number of existing bonds, and through two new OLO transactions.
The corona crisis increased the country’s financial needs significantly. So, at the end of March, the Federal Debt Agency decided to issue additional tenders for the OLOs in circulation. It also immediately halted the repurchase of certain bonds, and raised the issuance target for Treasury certificates.
New OLO
An additional measure was the issue of a third new government bond: OLO91. “This is a medium-term loan,” says Jean Deboutte, director of the Treasury. “The maturation date is 22 October 2027. With a zero-percent coupon, this bond is neutral for our annual budget.
“We wanted to bring OLO91 to market as quickly as possible. That has happened in a period of just a few days. It is also the largest ever OLO issue: €8 billion. We have attracted investors from 31 different countries, and around one-fifth of the volume comes from non-European buyers. That confirms the worldwide popularity of Belgian government bonds.”
Primary Dealer
The fast launch of OLO91 is in part thanks to BNP Paribas Fortis. “As a Primary Dealer, we take care of the placement and promotion of the bond among institutional investors,” says Director Debt Capital Markets Stefaan Van Langendonck. “We also reinforce activity and generate liquidity of OLOs and treasury certificates on the secondary market.”
Belgium has 12 primary dealers. They drew up a contract with the Treasury based on the Code of Duties. “BNP Paribas Fortis can rightly consider itself one of the most important intermediaries for Belgian bonds,” says Mr Van Langendonck. “Each year, we are invariably among the top three most active Primary Dealers in the country. Often we are number one.”