World's best bank for public sector clients: Barclays

July 06, 2016

Bringing a slew of ultra-long syndications for public sector issuers in the past year perfectly demonstrates Barclays’ world-class read of the debt markets.

Awards for Excellence 2016

Also shortlisted:

Citi

HSBC

View full 2016 results

The public sector debt market, where issuers tend to compete with each other to raise huge amounts in as dull a fashion as possible, does not naturally lend itself to innovation. But over the past year Barclays has been instrumental in bringing supranational, sub-sovereign and agency issuers to open a rich seam at the ultra-long end of the curve, culminating in a debut 50-year benchmark for Spain.

This is one way in which it has helped issuers navigate a market hit not only by falling (and for some issuers negative) yields, but also patches of exceptionally high volatility over the past 12 months.

In November, the bank helped bring the longest-ever syndication from a supranational: a €1 billion 1.85% December 2055 for the European Stability Mechanism. That was the first ultra-long benchmark from a European SSA since Austria sold a 50-year bond in January 2012.

“We had been working on long-dated deal ideas to help our clients for many months before the ESM transaction,” says Lee Cumbes, Barclays’ head of EMEA public sector DCM and risk solutions group, in London.