MILAN (Reuters) - Italy drew healthy demand on Wednesday for a dual-tranche syndicated deal consisting of a new 5-year BTP and a tap of a Green BTP bond maturing in 2037 as investors bet on further
Italy Attracts Strong Demand for New BTP and Green Bond Ahead of ECB Meeting
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy drew healthy demand on Wednesday for a dual-tranche syndicated deal consisting of a new 5-year BTP and a tap of a Green BTP bond maturing in 2037 as investors bet on further rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Rome saw final demand of over 214 billion euros ($243.62 billion), raising 12 billion euros from its new 5-yr bond and 5 billion from the green bond tap.
Orders were less than the almost 270 billion euros Italy attracted with a dual-tranche syndication at the beginning of the year, but more than the nearly 200 billion euros it printed in October with a similar deal.
Traders have almost fully priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut from the ECB on Thursday amid worries over the impact of U.S. trade tariffs on economy and inflation.
Italian government bonds, which offer the highest yields of any euro zone country, are generally proving attractive to investors, given the political stability and a falling budget deficit in the bloc's third-largest economy.
Italy's 10-year bonds offer a yield of around 3.5%
The new BTP due October. 1, 2030 will pay a yield of 8 basis points (bps) over an outstanding July 2030 bond, down from around 10 bps initially, leads said.
The Green BTP - expiring on October 30, 2037 - will pay a yield of 6 bps over Italy's outstanding March 2037 bond, down from around 9 bps initially.
The latest deal came after Italy drew lukewarm demand last week for its 7-yr inflation-linked retail bond compared with previous similar notes.
The Treasury hired Banco Santander, Barclays, BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale for the sale.
Maintaining firm investor interest is crucial for the Treasury, which manages the euro zone's second-largest debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
($1 = 0.8784 euros)
(Reporting by Sara Rossi, editing by Gavin Jones)
