Record interest in Belgian 10-year government bonds

The Belgian government successfully raised 7 billion euros on Tuesday in its first issuance of a 10-year linear bond (OLO) this year, the Belgian Debt Agency announced. The coupon was set at 3.10 percent. 

Remarkably, investors placed bids totaling more than 89 billion euros for the bond, setting a new record, according to the agency. Even excluding hedge funds, orders still amounted to 42.5 billion euros, another record-breaking figure.

The Belgian Debt Agency attributed the strong demand to the fact that government bond yields in most eurozone countries are significantly higher than swap rates. This makes government bonds particularly attractive for banks. “We received many large orders from banks”, said Jean Deboutte, the agency’s director.

The Belgian Debt Agency aims to raise nearly 45 billion euros this year from international financial markets and individual savers. The financing will primarily be achieved through the issuance of government bonds and treasury certificates with various maturities.

^{Illustration picture © ImageGlobe Jonas Hamers}