Issuance of FIGSCO bonds being marketed by Goldman Sachs has been delayed until September, subject to market conditions, according to a banker at one of the leads, who cited investor absences for the summer holidays and Goldman being in blackout as the reasons.

An inaugural deal off a Eu10bn programme for “fixed income global structured covered obligations” (FIGSCO) set up by Goldman had been expected for this week or next, with a roadshow of the programme having taken place last week.

Barclays, Crédit Agricole, Natixis and UBS are on the mandate alongside Goldman Sachs.

A banker at one of the leads said that issuance has been put on hold until September, subject to market conditions, noting that because of the role played by Goldman in the FIGSCO structure investors are focussed on the investment bank’s second quarter results, which will be announced on Tuesday (15 July), and that the decision was taken to respect the blackout period.

Goldman is one of two joint and several guarantors of a joint venture that is responsible for making interest payments and covering any shortfall on principal payments on the FIGSCO bonds. (See previous coverage.)

In addition, many investors are away on holidays and it was felt that there “was no point pushing something”, said the banker.

“Nobody can deny the support for the trade, but it is very important for the first trade to be successful and to get as many investors on board as possible,” he said. “If anything, the book will be more granular.”

Market conditions are not right for a new issue at the moment in any case, he added.