Standard Chartered prices; DirecTV notes tighten; Exxon Mobil trades better

By Cristal Cody and Aleesia Forni

Virginia Beach, March 21 - Standard Chartered Bank was in Friday's market with an offering of tier 2 subordinated notes, capping off a mostly quiet week for the high-grade market.

The $2 billion of 5.7% 30-year tier 2 subordinated notes priced with a spread of Treasuries plus 210 basis points.

Pricing was at at the tight end of talk.

The high-grade primary saw more than $16 billion of investment-grade paper price during the week, falling short of earlier estimates of $20 billion to $25 billion.

Despite the lack of issuance in recent sessions, due largely to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and Wednesday's Federal Reserve statement, the tone of the high-grade market remains positive.

Sources continue to expect activity in the primary to resume in the week ahead.

"Underlying technicals remain strong, so the pace of issuance should return to what we've seen in recent weeks," one market source said.

Investment-grade corporate bonds were unchanged to slightly better on Friday, according to market sources.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade series 22 index, which rolled to a March 2019 maturity from a September 2018 maturity on Thursday, firmed 1 bps to a spread of 71 bps.

The 4.45% senior notes due 2024 that DirecTV Holdings LLC and DirecTV Financing Co. priced on Monday traded better over the day, a trader said.

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s senior notes (Aaa/AAA/) brought to market in a $5.5 billion four-part offering at the start of the week ended modestly tighter in the secondary market, according to a trader.

Standard Chartered prices

Standard Chartered Bank priced $2 billion of 5.7% tier 2 subordinated notes (A3/A-/A+) due 2044 with a spread of Treasuries plus 210 bps on Friday, according to a market source.

The notes sold at the tight end of talk.

Pricing was at 99.8 to yield 5.715%.

Standard Chartered, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets LLC were the joint bookrunners for the Rule 144A and Regulation S deal.

The bank and financial services company is based in London.

DirecTV firms

DirecTV's 4.45% notes due 2024 tightened to 163 bps offered going out on Friday, a trader said.

The notes were quoted at the start of the trading session at 171 bps offered.

The company sold $1.25 billion of the 10-year notes (Baa2/BBB/) on Monday at a spread of Treasuries plus 180 bps.

The digital entertainment company is based in El Segundo, Calif.

Exxon Mobil better

Exxon Mobil's 1.819% notes due 2019 traded slightly better in the secondary market on Friday at 23 bps bid, 19 bps offered, a trader said.

Exxon sold $1.75 billion of the five-year notes at Treasuries plus 25 bps on Monday in a four-part debt offering.

The company's 3.176% notes due 2024 priced on Monday were quoted at 46 bps offered in late afternoon trading.

Exxon sold $1 billion of the 10-year notes at Treasuries plus 48 bps.

The oil and gas company is based in Irving, Texas.

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