January is traditionally a busy time of year for the sovereign debt market and so it has proved in 2015. But that does not make it any easier for the first country to take the plunge. This year, Belgium took that risk, hitting the market with a 10-year benchmark on January 7.
The €5bn transaction was greeted with remarkable enthusiasm. With a coupon of just 0.8% and a yield of 0.88%, it obtained the tightest spread for a Belgian 10-year deal since 2008 and carried the lowest ever coupon for a 10-year European government benchmark deal.
