WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar. 1 -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) entered the Italian Lira market on March 1 with a Lit 150 billion bond issue, its sixth in this market.
The two-year fixed-rate bonds carry a coupon 11.25 percent and an issue price of 101.125 percent. The proceeds of the issue have been swapped into U.S. dollar floating-rate funds. This transaction brings IFC's market borrowings to about US$1.63 billion for its current fiscal year.
The joint lead managers for the issue were Swiss Bank Corporation and Banque Paribas. The co-lead managers were Banca Commerciale Italiana, Banca di Roma, Bank Brussels Lambert, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Credito Italiano, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, IMI, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino. An additional twenty-one banks completed the syndicate.
IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and the largest source of multilateral financing for private sector companies in developing countries. Its long-term debt is rated triple-A by both Standard and Poor's and Moody's Investors Services.
