On 11 December 2012, three bonds from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) were listed and admitted to trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s regulated market.
The three bonds, floating rate notes for a total issue amount of EUR 30.5 billion, were the first notes under the ESM’s debt issuance programme. The ESM listed:
- An 18 month floating rate note for an amount of EUR 6.5 billion
- A 2 year floating rate note for an amount of EUR 12 billion
- A 3 year floating rate note for an amount of EUR 12 billion
Proceeds from the issue will be used to provide financial assistance for the recapitalisation of the Spanish banking sector.
Based in Luxembourg, the European Stability Mechanism is an inter-governmental institution which was inaugurated on 8 October 2012. Its mandate is to preserve financial stability in Europe by providing financial assistance to euro area member states in difficulty. The shareholders of the ESM are the 17 euro area member states.