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EU Primes the Pumps for Start of Its Top-Rated Bond Issuance
- Social bond sales to begin in second half of this month
- There is a lot of investor expectation, says EU’s Hahn
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The European Union is about to embark on a bond-issuance program that will see it emerge as one of the largest issuers of top-rated debt by the end of next year.
The bloc will begin selling social bonds in the second half of this month to finance a 100-billion-euro ($118 billion) scheme to support employment, according to budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. Issuance for its 750-billion-euro pandemic fund will then start by the end of the second quarter next year, with an average maturity of 15 years, he said.