Spain Begins $18 Billion Bond Program as Yields Climb

Spain is beginning a 13.5 billion- euro ($18 billion) program to sell government-guaranteed bonds backed by revenue from consumer electricity bills just as the yield on the country’s sovereign debt soars.

Bankers start sounding out investor interest in the first tranche of the bonds today, managers of the program said in a regulatory filing. The spread between Spanish government bonds and German sovereign debt touched a euro-era record, reducing the potential proceeds from the sale.