An examination of investors' reaction to the announcement of CoCo bonds issuance: A global outlook

Major international financial institutions (FIs) are using contingent convertible (CoCo) bonds in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to meet stricter national and international capital requirements. Beginning with UniCredit's €500 m 9.375% CoCo in July 2010, more than 40 publicly held financial institutions headquartered in 16 countries have issued 68 CoCos. According to S&P's 2010 report, by the year 2020, CoCo bond volumes are expected to reach to $1 trillion. This paper examines investors' reactions to the announcements of CoCo bonds issuances by FIs. Using event-study methodology and measuring cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) following the announcements, we find FIs generally experience negative abnormal returns during the post-announcement period; however, the investors' reactions vary in a country-by-country analysis. These different reactions create opportunity for investors and issuers to launch global diversification and trading strategies.