MEXICO CITY (Bloomberg) ? Mexico sold $160 million of so-called catastrophe bonds to help ease the strain on the federal budget should the country face a temblor similar to the one that killed 10,000 people in 1985, a person familiar with the sale said.

The bonds are part of a $450 million, three-year insurance package Mexico received from Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world?s second largest insurer, said the person, who declined to be identified. The securities will allow Mexico to transfer to investors some of the expenses the government would face should a big quake hit certain parts of Mexico, the person said.

The bonds, which mature in 2009, were priced to yield 2.35 percentage points over the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, the person said. Deutsche Bank AG and Swiss Re managed the Mexican catastrophe bond sale.