When a competitor pitched Argentina for a $1 billion issue at a rumoured 35 to 50 basis points over the existing curve, Rachel Hines thought she could do better. By reopening an existing bond, the money could be raised quicker, more quietly and more cheaply, argued the head of JP Morgan's Latin American capital markets operations.
Argentina's borrowing team clearly agreed and JP Morgan won the mandate. The firm has now done two reopenings for Argentina, a $500 million reopening of the 2027 global bond in February and a $750 million addition to its 2017 global in March.
"In volatile market conditions [reopening] gives very fast execution with a minimum amount of noise and some deals can even be privately placed," says Hines, speaking from her Long Island beach home where she was resting after leading a $500 million global for Venezuela. "With the Eurobond replacing the Brady bond for Latin issuers, reopenings help create the big liquid issues that the market wants," says Hines.
Hines joined JP Morgan in 1986 and became involved in emerging-market debt three years later. In 1995 she headed the team advising the Mexican government on re-entering the capital markets after the peso crisis.