BAC Credomatic prices $500M bond, its first cross-border deal since 2023
What's the deal? Banco de América Central (BAC Credomatic)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → priced $500 million in five-year bonds, its first cross-border deal in over three years. Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Santander acted as bookrunners.
The details: The firm issued 6.75% 2031 notes at 99.267 to yield 6.926%, or 210 basis points over US Treasury bonds. Bidding opened in the 250 bps area before tightening to around 215 bps. FitchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and S&PDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → both rated the notes BBB-.
What's the money for? BAC plans to use the proceeds to refinance local debt and boost liquidity, according to the ratings agencies. It last issued cross-border bonds in January 2023.
Why it stands out: At $500 million, the deal ranks in the 95th percentile for all-time debt raises tied to Costa Rica, across a sample of 1,364 rounds — a notably large print for the region.
Why now? BAC moved as regional issuers took advantage of a recent dip in US Treasury yields, a window that lowers borrowing costs for cross-border deals.
The bigger picture: The deal priced the same day the Republic of Colombia returned to the international bond market, raising $5.2 billion in its second multi-part offering this year. Colombia sold $2.2 billion in long five-year bonds, $2 billion in long 10-year notes, and $1 billion in 30-year notes, with the offering roughly 3.2 times oversubscribed.
Colombia priced 7% 2032 bonds at 99.799 to yield 7.05%, 7.625% 2037 notes to yield 7.65%, and 8.125% 2056 notes to yield 8.15%, each tightening from wider initial talk. BBVA, Itaú BBA, and JPMorgan were bookrunners. The sovereign will use the proceeds to fund a budget deficit expected to hit 7.2% of GDP this year, up from the 5.3% gap projected by the previous administration.
The signal: Two Latin American issuers — one corporate, one sovereign — tapping global markets on the same day underscores how a brief dip in Treasury yields can open a financing window. For BAC, it is a return to cross-border debt after a long absence; for Colombia, it is costlier borrowing to plug a widening fiscal gap.
Read more: latinfinance.com
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