Euro Rescue Fund Sells Bills ‘Smoothly’ After S&P Downgrade
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The European Financial Stability Facility issued six-month debt for the first time, selling 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) of securities a day after the euro region’s temporary bailout fund lost its top credit rating.
The EFSF sold the 182-day bills at an average yield of 0.2664 percent, it said in a statement. Investors bid for 3.1 times the amount of bills sold, little changed from the 3.2 bid-to-cover ratio at a Dec. 13 offering of three-month bills. The facility’s longer-dated bonds underperformed their euro-area peers after the Standard & Poor’s downgrade to AA+ from AAA.