Appointments made for Jersey bond issuance

The Minister for Treasury and Resources has appointed joint lead managers and legal advisers for the forthcoming States of Jersey’s bond issuance, which will raise funds for investment in housing to be delivered over the next ten years.

 

Following two separate open tenders and interview processes, the companies appointed as joint lead managers (also known as bookrunners) are Barclays Bank PLC, HSBC Bank plc and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. The legal advisers appointed to act for the States of Jersey are Clifford Chance LLP and Carey Olsen. Ernst & Young are acting as independent financial advisers to the States of Jersey on the bond issuance.

 

Bonds are a type of borrowing which can provide the borrower with external funds to finance long-term investments or expenditure and are very commonly used as a means of raising funds by governments.

 

The bookrunners are engaged by the issuer to sell the bonds to investors and act as advisers to the bond issuer in terms of timing and pricing of the bond issue.

 

Treasury Minister Senator Philip Ozouf said “These appointments were made from a very strong field of applicants. It was encouraging that some of the world’s leading financial institutions presented tenders and that the local offices of the successful banks were involved in the process.

 

“The States took the decision as part of the 2014 Budget to use Jersey’s excellent credit rating to borrow funds at historically low levels of interest for long-term investment in housing. The bond will deliver capital necessary to secure a significant improvement in our social housing as well as delivering up to a thousand much needed new, affordable homes for islanders.”