BCP Lassos Huaso Sequel

Banco de Credito del Peru has sold $106m equivalent in floating-rate bonds on the Chilean market, marking the second-ever “huaso” notes issue. The Peruvian bank placed UF2.7m ($106m) in 2014 bonds, priced at 97.92 with a 3.50% coupon to yield 3.97%, or 140bp wide to corresponding government bonds, according to a banker managing the sale. BCP decided not to sell a peso-denominated tranche, which bankers say was a decision made ahead of time, due to a preference shown by investors for UF. They add that swapping back to dollars is easier with a single tranche. The yield is equal to about 5.4% in dollars, according to a banker on the deal. Private pension fund managers, mutual funds, brokerages and banks were among the largest buyers. Larrain Vial and BCI managed the sale, rated A/AA- on a national scale. The deal comes from BCP’s $300m equivalent shelf filed earlier this year. America Movil opened the market for foreigners in April with UF4m ($145m) in 3.00% coupon 2014 bonds on Chile’s domestic market yielding 3.31%, or 141bp over the government, on demand of around UF6.4m. It also decided to issue only in UF in its sale, managed by Banchile-Citi. Chilean bankers say more foreign issuers may be on the way, with pitches out to potential borrowers in Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. The ideal candidate for this type of transaction is an investment grade corporate that leads its sector, say bankers.