Supranationals and Agencies – A Year in Review

By Sean Taor
Published February 22, 2023 | 1 min read

RBC Capital Markets is would like to once again provide you with a series of roundtable discussions with issuers, investors and experts covering every area of the Supranational and European Agencies market. The panel members gave their views on the themes that mattered in 2022, and provide a view on what expect moving into 2023. This publication summarizes these conversations along with key insights and takeaways from issuers and investors. We would like to thank the issuers and investors that shared their views and experiences of the past year.

European Agencies Act Nimbly in a Challenging Environment

The consensus from our European agency panel was that despite multiple headwinds, 2022 was a successful year. All the agencies we spoke to either met or exceeded their funding targets, although volatility – exacerbated by the war in Ukraine – demanded a flexible approach. With the US dollar market offering limited windows, agencies tended to focus on the euro market while acting more opportunistically in terms of US dollar issuance, as well as across a range of other currencies. Looking forward, the hope is that that central bank actions will lead to stabilization in markets. In the meantime, 2023 will require a similarly agile approach.

 

Supranationals Step Up Despite Difficult Conditions

Market volatility, rising interest rates and the end of quantitative easing were all felt by supranationals in 2022. Fluctuating demand made price discovery more difficult, while issuance windows were sometimes hard to come by. However, despite lower overall issuance in the wake of Covid-driven highs, 2022 was a record year for more than one panelist’s organization. ESG-focused issuance continued to grow, and diversification into different currencies was a common theme. As we enter 2023 the list of economic and policy challenges is long, although a lot of risk is already priced in. With the future uncertain, several supranationals plan to frontload their issuance.


Sean Taor

Sean Taor
Head, European Debt Capital Markets & Syndicate


DCMDebt Capital MarketsEuropean AgenciesInterest RatesMarket VolatilityOutlookSupranationalsUS Dollar Issuance