Banxico Swaps $692m in Bonds

Mexico’s central bank sold MXP7.4bn ($692m) worth of peso denominated 7.75% 2017 notes Tuesday in exchange for MXP6.69bn worth of old 8.00% 2015 notes at 103.37 and MXP910m worth of 7.25% 2016 notes at 98.83. The offering is part of an ongoing effort by Hacienda to boost the liquidity of benchmarks, Alicia Nunez, deputy general director of debt issuance, tells LatinFinance. Banxico offered to swap MXP10bn, which means it succeeded in selling 74% of the total. This was significantly higher than the 17% Hacienda achieved in a February 20 offer to exchange UDI bonds. Nunez says UDIs are less liquid than peso notes, which explains the lower participation in the previous exchange.