On Tuesday, 25 March 2025, MuniFin, rated AA+, successfully returned to the USD market with a new USD 1 billion 5-year benchmark due 1 April 2030. The transaction saw strong investor demand in the competitive SSA market, leading to final pricing at SOFR mid-swap +46bps, 3bps tighter than initial pricing thoughts.
The mandate for the new benchmark was announced on Monday, 24 March, with initial pricing thoughts at SOFR mid-swap +49bps. Strong investor interest enabled books to officially open the following morning with a price guidance of SOFR MS +48bps. The orderbook continued to build momentum and with robust demand from high-quality accounts, the final orderbook closed later that afternoon in excess of USD 3.2 billion. The transaction was finally priced with a coupon of 4.250%.
“This shows the strong investor interest towards MuniFin bonds, despite a more volatile market backdrop and competing supply. With transactions like this, we can really see the benefits of our strategic approach and commitment to the USD benchmark market,” says Joakim Holmström, Executive Vice President, at MuniFin’s Capital Markets and Sustainability team.
“Congratulations to the issuer and the funding team for delivering another powerful market message. A stellar execution by the MuniFin team which was rewarded with a very tight spread versus US Treasuries and other SSA peers. Despite the busy market window, the issuer was able to tighten the price by 3bps and consistently attract new high-quality investor demand, demonstrating little sensitivities from start to finish. This underscores the strong support MuniFin has garnered in the USD market over the years,” says Jamie Stirling, Global Head of DCM SSA at BNP Paribas.
The orderbook was well-diversified, with Central Banks and Official Institutions leading allocations at 59%, followed by Banks (31%) and Asset/Fund Managers (10%). Geographically, the Americas took the largest share at 42%, followed by Europe (26%), Africa & Middle East (12%), Nordics (10%), and Asia Pacific (10%).
This successful issuance underscores MuniFin’s strong market presence and continued ability to secure high-quality demand across a global investor base. After this transaction, MuniFin has reached roughly half of its EUR 9 billion long-term funding target for the year.
Transaction details
Final Terms, 25th March 2025
| Issuer | Municipality Finance Plc (“MuniFin”) |
| Issue rating | Aa1 / AA+ (Moody’s / S&P) (all stable) |
| Issue amount | USD 1,000,000,000.00 |
| Pricing date | 25th March 2025 |
| Settlement date | 31st March 2025 (T+4) |
| Maturity date | 1st April 2030 |
| Re-offer price / yield | 99.995% / 4.251% |
| Coupon | 4.250% (paid semi-annual) |
| Re-offer spread | Mid-swaps +46bps |
| Spread vs benchmark | UST 4% due February 2030 +17.63bps |
| ISIN | XS3038763325 / US62628PAJ57 |
| Joint lead managers | BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Nomura |
Distribution by type
Distribution by region
Comments from joint lead managers
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team on another strong outing in the fixed USD space. Pricing flat to fair value at a very tight differential vs some of the larger Supranational names as well as achieving a 3x over-subscription is testament to the great name recognition that MuniFin enjoys among global investors, particularly central banks and bank treasuries. BMO was very pleased to be part of this transaction.”
Massimo Antonelli, Managing Director, Head of International SSA, BMO Capital Markets
“Congratulations to the MuniFin team for an outstanding first USD benchmark issuance of 2025. The new USD 1bn 5-year benchmark not only extended the issuers outstanding USD benchmark curve, but also garnered a high-quality orderbook from across the globe. MuniFin’s agility in adapting to market windows once again enabled them to achieve attractive cost of funding for their activities which support the mission of building a better and more sustainable future for its clients. Deutsche Bank is honored to have been involved in this transaction.”
Katrin Wehle, Managing Director, Head of SSA DCM Origination, Deutsche Bank
“MuniFin has once again demonstrated its broad appeal among USD global fixed-income investors with a successful $1 billion 5-year USD benchmark. Pricing a well oversubscribed US$1bn no-grow transaction, with minimal new issue concession and an extremely high quality and granular $3.2 billion orderbook is reflective of the name recognition the credit enjoys and MuniFin’s consistency and commitment to the USD market.”
Sara Montes, Vice President, SSA Origination, Nomura