Photo: DeptfordJon

Colombian issuers are likely to take a step back from the local bond market for the remainder of the year after a blistering first half, analysts and market sources have told LatinFinance.

Sovereign debt has recently traded down in the local market, pushing up the benchmark rates for other borrowers, and spurring volatility that has deterred issuance. 
Meanwhile, liquidity is thinning, bankers say. That may change in October, they hope, when a large sovereign maturity is scheduled. 
Nonetheless, Colombian borrowers have taken full advantage of the markets already this year. 
“What we usually do in seven months, this year was done in four,” Credicorp Colombia’s head of fixed income Carlos Sánchez told LatinFinance. 
Among a flurry of transactions in the first months of the year, Davivienda sold a triple-tranche COP700bn ($293m) bond in February and a COP400bn ($168m) 2025 subordinated instrument in May; Terpel issued COP400bn ($165m) through a dual-tranche bond in February; and EPM tapped the markets with a triple-tranche bond and a reopening of a 2023 for COP630bn ($240m) in late March.LF