Rabobank suggest that “with Le Pen having done little to move the needle in terms of the perceived cohesiveness of the Eurozone, her current political problems seem unlikely to have much if any impact on a systemic level”.
- They go on to note that “French 2014 5-Year CDS now matches levels reached in the immediate wake of last year’s shock election announcement. Much of this widening move, however, took place in prior weeks. The reason for the subsequent ascent, in our view, is that the German-led sell-off in rates has prompted a tightening of financial conditions”.
- The conclude by noting that “Le Pen’s travails look currently to be something of a sideshow. The disconnect between French financial conditions and the country’s fundamental outlook is the more important theme for investors to focus on and one which raises the odds of OAT/Bund spread widening. Resonating with this view is a notable nugget of feedback we received during a client visit last week which was from an investor who noted that the back up in German yields would now see them operating with a clear home bias as there is no longer a need to hunt for returns elsewhere. They believe many of their peers would be of a similar view”.