Bahamas Tests Sovereign Waters

High grade Bahamas has broken a regional sovereign silence in the cross-border DCM markets, pricing a $100m 7.125% of 2038 bond at 99.865 to yield 7.136%, or 275bp wide to UST. The A3/A- issue was cut off after demand reached $110m, according to a banker on the transaction. About 40% of the orders came from Caribbean insurance companies, pension funds and other locals. The remainder of the investor base was split between North America and Europe. The sale was managed by RBC, in its first bookrun deal in the region in recent memory, alongside FirstCarribean.