BBVA Continental Aims for Bond Issue

Peru’s BBVA Continental is heard whispering 5.5%-area yield for a new $400m 2022 bond expected to price as soon as today, according to a person familiar with the process. The BBB/BBB+ lender is scheduled to wrap up investor meetings in Europe today after visiting Latin America and the US, and is heard having generated $1.5bn in interest. The decision to approach the market during the usually inactive second half of August is said to be based on a strategy of beating an expected rush of issuers in the first week of September, and justified by the strong demand seen so far. The price whispers compare to respective 3.7% and 4.8% yield levels seen on Continental’s 2017 and 2020 bonds Wednesday, according to a trader. The sale, coming under an $800m authorization given in June, would allow Continental to match assets with liabilities and diversify its funding base. BBVA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are managing the process. Continental’s last visit to the debt capital market was a $500m sale in January, pricing at par to yield 5.75%, with BBVA, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan managing.