In the Chinese onshore bond market, France’s Crédit Agricole has regularly been the bridesmaid, helping other financial institutions access local currency liquidity, but never the bride. In December, the bank put itself centre stage with an inaugural panda bond that was also the first to be issued by a European global systemically important bank.
Following the approval granted by People’s Bank of China for its panda bond issuance programme, on December 5 Crédit Agricole issued a Rmb1bn ($142.7m) senior preferred bond with a three-year tenor and a 3.4% fixed-rate coupon. The inaugural benchmark issuance was bought by Chinese and international investors on the Chinese bond market and through the Hong Kong Bond Connect scheme. The transaction was significant because it enabled the bank to fund the daily operations of its Shenzhen-based subsidiary. However, it also signalled the reawakening of a market that has been in relative hibernation for the past three years.
