Marcus Ashworth, Columnist

Spain Sells $11 Billion of Debt, No Problem at All

Government and corporate bond issuers are having to pay slightly more interest on new issues, but the debt market is functioning.

March 25, 2020 at 10:01 AM UTC

By Marcus Ashworth

Marcus Ashworth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European markets. Previously, he was chief markets strategist for Haitong Securities in London.

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Photographer: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP

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Nothing says funding is not a problem during this crisis than a 10 billion-euro ($11 billion) debt issue. Spain, in a state of emergency because of the coronavirus, achieved this on Tuesday with a seven-year bond sale that attracted more than 36 billion euros of orders.

The country was one of 11 high-grade borrowers testing the waters in what was the busiest day of the month for bond sales and the fourth-busiest of the year. This week’s volumes have already surpassed the total of the first three weeks of March, when the outbreak really suppressed supply. Wednesday is set to be even bigger.