News - Bonds
Ignis’ Chris Bowie has offloaded £200m of Santander debt on concerns over the impact of the sovereign debt crisis on the banking giant.
Bowie, Ignis' head of credit portfolio management, says the owner of the Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley brands in the UK remains a strong institution, but could face pressure due to the escalating issues in peripheral Europe.
Ignis now has less than £50m in Santander debt, out of a total £135m exposure to Spain, a large underweight position.
Bowie, who helps oversee almost £15bn at the group, says Ignis has a limited exposure to debt in peripheral Europe.
"While Santander has a strong overseas franchise, it still has a large exposure to Spain and it is prudent right now to be a little cautious," Bowie says.
"We do not have a large exposure to the troubled European states. For example, we have £100m in Ireland, but a large proportion of that is in GE bonds.
"Our Portugal exposure is also minimal, about £10m out of our £14.8bn portfolio."
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