How the ECB set up the primary bond market for a hectic January

Send us Fan MailThis week was an important one for the primary capital markets, even if there was very little, if any, issuance. The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank all made key monetary policy decisions that laid the ground for what is traditionally one of the busiest months for capital raising all year — January — and beyond. We focus on what the ECB said about its plans for bond buying and how this will impact bond markets at the start of next year, particularly for public sector borrowers. The central bank looks to be winding down its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme. Knowing that central bank support for the market is going, public sector issuers, which have been the main beneficiaries of the Pepp, will look to get more funding done than usual at the start of the year before the ECB winds down its buying under the programme in March.But the ECB is mitigating that withdrawal of support by deploying its firepower in different ways. We discuss what these are, how they will affect the capital markets, and which borrowers will benefit.