Fannie Mae, AutoZone, International Finance price; Citigroup, MUFG ease; BB&T flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., April 6 – Several high-grade issuers tapped the primary market on Thursday.

Fannie Mae priced a $2 billion offering of five-year benchmark notes.

New York Life Global Funding priced $800 million of three-year fixed- and floating-rate notes.

AutoZone, Inc. sold $600 million of 10-year senior notes on Thursday.

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. brought $350 million of two-year medium-term senior floating-rate notes to the primary market.

Also, International Finance Corp. priced a $250 million add-on to its floating-rate notes due Dec. 15, 2021.

High-grade deal action is expected to slow ahead of the upcoming Easter holiday, sources report.

Looking at supply later in April, Australian financial services company Suncorp-Metway Ltd. plans to hold a roadshow for a dollar offering.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index firmed about 1 basis point to close at a spread of 65 bps.

Bank and financial paper traded mostly flat to about 2 bps to 3 bps wider on the day.

Citigroup, Inc.’s 4.75% subordinated notes due May 18, 2046 eased 3 bps.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.’s 3.677% senior notes due Feb. 22, 2027 softened 3 bps.

BB&T Corp.’s 2.75% senior medium-term notes due April 1, 2022 were flat.

Fannie Mae prices $2 billion

Fannie Mae priced a $2 billion offering of 1.875% five-year Benchmark Notes on Thursday at 99.551 to yield 1.97%, according to a news release.

The notes due April 5, 2022 came with a spread of 12 bps over Treasuries.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Nomura Securities International and TD Securities (USA) LLC were the bookrunners.

Fund managers purchased 46% of the notes, while 15% went to commercial banks, 11% to corporate/pension investors and 11% to state/local governments. Insurance companies purchased 9% of the notes, 8% went to central banks and the remaining securities to other investors.

By region, U.S. investors bought 89% of the notes. Investors in Asia took 8% of the deal, European investors bought 2%, and the remaining was sold to other regions.

Fannie Mae is a mortgage credit provider based in Washington, D.C.

New York Life sells notes

New York Life Global Funding priced $800 million of three-year notes (Aaa/AAA/) in fixed- and floating-rate tranches on Thursday, according to a market source.

The company sold $300 million of three-year floating-rate notes at Libor plus 27 bps.

New York Life sold $500 million of 2% three-year fixed-rate notes at a spread of Treasuries plus 57 bps.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities were the bookrunners.

New York Life Global is a unit of New York-based mutual insurance company New York Life Insurance Co.

AutoZone prints $600 million

AutoZone (Baa1/BBB/BBB) sold $600 million of 3.75% 10-year senior notes on Thursday at a spread of 140 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source and an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The notes due June 1, 2027 priced at 99.995 to yield 3.75%.

The notes were talked to price in the Treasuries plus 140 bps area, plus or minus 2.5 bps.

J.P. Morgan Securities, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC were the bookrunners.

The notes will have a make-whole call and a par call. The issue also has a change-of-control put at 101.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

AutoZone is a Memphis-based auto parts and supplies retailer.

National Rural sells floaters

National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance sold $350 million of two-year medium-term senior floating-rate notes on Thursday at par to yield Libor plus 20 bps, according to an FWP filing with the SEC.

The series D notes (A2/A/A) are non-callable.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC was the bookrunner.

The market lender for electric cooperatives is based in Herndon, Va.

International Finance reopens

International Finance (Aaa/AAA) priced a $250 million add-on to its floating-rate notes due Dec. 15, 2021 on Thursday at Libor plus 5 bps, according to a market source.

The notes were initially talked to price in the Libor plus 6 bps area.

BofA Merrill Lynch, BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. were the lead managers.

The total outstanding following the deal will be $1 billion.

Washington, D.C.-based International Finance is a member of the World Bank Group.

Suncorp-Metway plans deal

Australian financial services company Suncorp-Metway (A1/A+/A+) plans to hold a roadshow the week of April 17 for a dollar-denominated Rule 144A and Regulation S notes offering, according to a market source on Thursday.

Citigroup Global Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities, RBC Capital Markets and UBS Securities LLC are arranging the roadshow in the United States and Asia.

Suncorp-Metway is a banking and financial services company based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Citigroup eases

Citigroup’s 4.75% notes due May 18, 2046 (Baa3/BBB/A-) eased 3 bps to 184 bps bid in secondary trading, according to a market source on Thursday.

The notes due May 18, 2046 priced in a $750 million reopening on Feb. 7 at a spread of 173 bps over Treasuries.

Citigroup originally sold $1 billion of the notes on May 11, 2016 at Treasuries plus 225 bps.

Citigroup is a financial services company based in New York.

MUFG softens

MUFG’s 3.677% notes due Feb. 22, 2027 eased 3 bps to 110 bps bid on Thursday, according to a market source.

MUFG priced the $1 billion tranche of 3.677% 10-year notes (A1/A/A) on Feb. 15 at a Treasuries plus 118 bps spread.

The bank is based in Tokyo.

BB&T unchanged

BB&T’s 2.75% notes due April 1, 2022 traded flat on Thursday at 73 bps bid, a market source said.

The company priced $1 billion of 2.75% five-year notes (A2/A-/A+) on March 16 at a spread of 75 bps over Treasuries.

The bank and financial services company is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

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