Morning Commentary: BB&T to sell notes; Pfizer stronger; secondary market volume thins

By Cristal Cody

Eureka Springs, Ark., Dec. 22 – Though the high-grade primary market appeared all but finished for the year, BB&T Corp. made a surprise announcement on Thursday that it will sell senior medium-term floating-rate notes due June 15, 2020 at Libor plus 57 basis points.

The deal size had not been set early Thursday, according to a 424B3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Market activity overall continues to thin, with an early market close on Friday and closed bond markets on Monday for the Christmas Day holiday.

In the secondary market, Pfizer Inc.’s 3% notes due Dec. 15, 2026 brought in November were quoted trading more than 10 basis points better than issuance.

The three-month Libor yield was up 1 bp to 100 bps early Thursday, according to a market source.

High-grade secondary trading bond volume fell to $11.47 billion on Wednesday, compared to $13.44 billion on Tuesday and $12.99 billion on Monday, according to Trace.

Pfizer stronger

Pfizer’s 3% notes due 2026 were seen at 71 bps offered in secondary trading early Thursday, according to a market source.

The company sold $1.75 billion of the 10-year notes (A1/AA/A+) on Nov. 14 at a spread of 85 bps over Treasuries.

The biopharmaceutical company is based in Foster City, Calif.

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