Romania issues EUR 4.5 bln Eurobonds, but borrowing cost rises

The country tapped the foreign market for the second time this year, just after the approval of the first budget revision by the newly appointed government, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Through these external bond issues, the Ministry of Finance nearly met its EUR 10 billion Eurobond borrowing plan for 2026, after the state had previously borrowed a cumulative amount of about EUR 5 billion equivalent in its first Eurobond issue of the year.

The final borrowing costs for the Eurobonds were between 5% and 7%, at around 5.3% (190 basis points above mid-swap) for 4-year securities, over 6.2% (285bp above mid-swap) for 8-year ones and 6.8% (335bp above mid-swap) for 12-year ones, according to preliminary data. The spreads narrowed from initial indicative levels of 210bp, 310bp and 360bp, respectively.

This is above the borrowing costs of 2025. In autumn 2025, the state paid 5.5% for 8-year maturity and 6.2% for 12-year maturity.

The 285bp spread above mid-swap paid for the 8-year maturity now is wider than the 210bp spread paid for roughly the same maturity in March 2026, before the political crisis emerged. During 2026, in addition to domestic political problems, turbulence also accumulated externally, at a global level, leading to an increase in financing costs.