For many bond investors, there was a time when Italy and Greece counted among the eurozone’s untouchables. At the start of 2020, however, order books for their paper ballooned to unprecedented levels. Barclays was joint bookrunner on record-breaking issues for both sovereigns.
Unlike some other players, Barclays has been firmly committed to sovereign debt markets since the global financial crisis of 2008/09. “We knew we needed strength there, even as others came and went,” says Lee Cumbes, Barclays head of public sector debt for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “My team is one of the best staffed on the street and we have not shrunk in size.”
