On April 29, 2010, Crédit Agricole CIB acted as bookrunner, along with Natixis, in a bond issue for a group of French university hospital centers (Centres Hospitaliers Universitaires - CHU). This issue is the second by a group of university hospital centers since the inaugural issue in May 2009.

 

This year’s group, made up of 23 university and regional (CHU-CHR) hospital centers (including five new entrants, three of which are not regional hospital centers), successfully floated a EUR 167 million bond issue. The 10-year borrowing provides for principal redemption at maturity and pays an annual 3.625% coupon.
 

Placement of this new borrowing was possible thanks to Moody’s confirmation of the Aaa rating, which recognised the high credit quality of the group’s members even though the group’s makeup was modified. The success of the initial 2009 issue and the current market environment were also positive factors.

 

The institutions concerned were the university hospital centers of Amiens, Angers, Besançon, Bordeaux, Brest, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Marseille, Montpellier, Nancy, Nice, Nîmes, Reims, Saint-Etienne and Tours, and the regional hospital centers of Lagny Marne-La-Vallée, Metz-Thionville, Sainte-Anne, Félix Guyon de Saint-Denis-De-La-Réunion, the southern Paris region and Southern Réunion.