Mizuho brings $2 billion; MetLife prints; W.R. Berkley prices add-on; credit spreads tighten

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 1 – September opened with three high-grade issuers in the primary market.

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. priced $2 billion of senior notes (A1/A-/) on Tuesday in the company’s second diversity and inclusion bond offering this year. The deal saw strong demand and attracted a final cumulative book of $5.1 billion, an informed source said.

On July 6, Mizuho sold $2.5 billion of senior notes in the first diversity and inclusion bond offering by a Japanese bank.

Also on Tuesday, Metropolitan Life Global Funding I priced $300 million of two-year floating-rate notes (Aa3/AA-/).

W.R. Berkley Corp. tapped the market with a $170 million reopening of its 4% 30-year senior notes (Baa1/BBB+/) at a spread of Treasuries plus 162.5 basis points, tighter than where the company first priced the issue on May 5 at Treasuries plus 270 bps.

Deal volume on Monday was light with $300 million of issuance. Anywhere from zero to as much as $15 billion of deal volume is expected by market participants this week ahead of the Labor Day holiday.

For the month, syndicate sources forecast about $110 billion to as much as $165 billion of supply.

Credit spreads continued to improve more than 2 bps on Tuesday after tightening nearly 2 bps at the start of the week.

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