EU hires banks for first recovery fund bond
The European Union hired banks for the first debt sale backing its coronavirus recovery fund on Monday, according to memos from two lead managers seen by Reuters.
The new 10-year bond sale will be launched on Tuesday, subject to market conditions, the memos said.
The deal is the first of up to 800 billion euros of debt issuance until 2026 that will back grants and loans to member states, transforming the EU into a leading European borrower.
It will build on 90 billion euros of EU issuance backing the SURE unemployment scheme since last October.
The EU hired BNP Paribas, DZ Bank, HSBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo and Morgan Stanley as joint lead managers for the deal, while Danske Bank and Santander will act as co-lead managers, according to the memo.