WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb/ 8 -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched a US$400 million bond issue in the Euromarkets on February 6. The issue, IFC's annual U.S. dollar benchmark transaction, was the Corporation's first such issue with a 10-year maturity. The notes have a fixed coupon of 7-7/8 percent per annum and were issued at a price of 99.529 percent of par to yield 27 basis points above the relevant U.S. Treasury benchmark bond. The proceeds of the issue were swapped into floating-rate U.S. dollars. The joint bookrunners and lead managers of the issue were Barclays de Zoete Wedd Limited and Swiss Bank Corporation. The co-lead managers were Deutsche Bank AG London, Goldman Sachs International, IBJ International plc, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd., Morgan Stanley and Co. International Ltd., Norinchukin International plc, Salomon Brothers International Ltd., and UBS Ltd. This transaction brings IFC's market borrowings to about US$1.5 billion for fiscal year 1995, which began on July 1, 1994. IFC, a
member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of financing for private sector companies in developing countries. Its long-term debt is rated triple-A by both Standard & Poor's Corp. and Moody's Investors Service.
