25 banks vying to sell Romanian bonds

Almost 30 major international banks are vying for the position of lead managers of the minimum 500 million-euro bond issue that the Economy and Finance Ministry plans to release soon, Sebastian Vladescu, the secretary of state in charge of the Treasury told ZF. By 3 p.m. on Friday, twenty-five banks interested in the deal sent bids detailing the structure and the cost at which the ten-year bond issue could entail. Vladescu believes that Romania can borrow from the international market at coupons worth around 5%, given that on the domestic market it has just rejected the offers of RON from banks in the form of ten and five-year bonds, deeming the interests in excess of 7% as too high. Vladescu says that the budget needs a buffer-fund should January and February bring a cash shortage, which may, in part, happen because of an effort to pay higher pensions.