Jefferies, a global securities and investment banking firm, has been appointed as an EBT (Especialistas em Bilhetes do Tesouro) for treasury bills and as an OMP (Operadores de Mercado Primario) for long-term bonds by Portuguese Treasury and Government Debt Agency (Instituto de Gestao da Tesouraria e do Credito Publico, IGCP).

This new appointment brings the total number of EBT primary dealer firms in the Portuguese bond market to 15.

Jefferies has more than 450 professionals globally who are focused on the sales and trading of investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, government and agency securities, repo finance, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, municipal bonds, whole loans, leveraged loans, distressed securities and emerging market debt.

Tim Cronin, global head of the fixed income division at Jefferies, said: “We are very pleased to be appointed as a primary market operator and treasury bill specialist in Portugal and see this designation as integral to the continued expansion of our global rates business.”