The European debt markets over the past two months have resembled a ghost town. Sceptical investors turned away from the region after simultaneous fiscal storms battered the continent and wary issuers are keeping the hatches firmly battened down.
Every issuer except one. German development agency KfW took the bull by the horns and chose to issue a €5bn three-year deal at this deeply uncertain time. As the Greek fiscal tragedy and struggling PIGS economies (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) sent shudders down the spines of investors in Europe, so KfW decided to test the strength of the euro and the supposed scepticism of investors.
