Cyprus raises 1.25 billion euros to repay Russian loan early

Cyprus successfully drew 1.25 billion financing with two EMTN bonds of 5 years and 30 years maturity with up to 9 billion euros in market demand.

Bloomberg reports that the 5-year bond auction closed at 0.65% and for the 30-year at 2.88%. It is noted that the bid at the open was 0.85% for the 5-year and at 3.12% for the 30-year.

Cyprus raised € 500 million from the 5-year bond and € 750 million from the 30-year.

Reuters reports that Cyprus’s first 30-year bond sale was overloaded with orders, with high demand for such long maturities showing just how much Europe’s bond market is adjusting to expectations of persistently low interest rates and central bank stimulus. The demand for 30-year debt from a country that needed a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund just five years ago is remarkable and says as much about the state of the European economy and bond market as Cyprus’ prospects per se, debt managers said.

“It is a demonstration of the backdrop we are in at the moment and it also shows how far Cyprus has come from the crisis days,” said one of the bankers managing the sale.

Cyprus’s 10-year bond yields had hit a one-month high of 1.61 percent in early trade on Wednesday, but as details around demand for the deal emerged, that yield was five basis points lower on the day at 1.52 percent on the vote of confidence from investors.

Similarly, Cyprus’s current longest-dated bond, a 15-year note, hit a three-week high of 2.277 percent before dropping to 2.19 percent, lower 6 bps on the day.