Treasury hires banks to manage auction of bonds
THE Treasury has turned to a quartet of banks to manage a sale of 25-year bonds, in its first syndicated gilt sale in four years.
The Debt Management Office said Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland had been hired to sell the securities during the week beginning 15 June.
The bonds, which mature after 25 years, will be the first of a probable eight syndicated gilt sales worth up to £220bn planned for this financial year. Britain last sold bonds via a syndicate of banks in 2005, with the launch of the world’s first 50-year sovereign inflation-linked bond.
“The selection of the lead managers for this first and very important offering required difficult choices to be made but unlike in 2005 these are not one-off appointments,” DMO chief Robert Stheeman said.
Syndication is more costly than a traditional auction but usually reaches a broader investor base.