SBI raises $600mn via 'Regulation S' bonds

Lending major State Bank of India has raised $600 million of "Regulation S" bonds at a coupon rate of 1.80 per cent.

Accordingly, the bank, acting through its London Branch, raised the sum for bonds benchmarked against the 5 year US Treasury and priced at a spread of 140 bps over the benchmark.

"The bonds will be listed on SGX-ST and India INX. The issuance represented SBI's return to the international public bond markets after a gap of close to 2 years," the statement said.

"The transaction was well received and saw strong interest from investors across geographies with a final order book in excess of $1.9 billion."

As per the bank, on the back of strong demand, the price guidance was revised from "T+175 bps area to T+140 bps", with a peak orderbook of $2.1 billion resulting in final pricing at the tight end of the range.

"The Notes are expected to carry a final rating of Baa3, BBB- and BBB- from Moody's, Standard and Poor's and Fitch respectively," the statement said.

"BofA Securities, Citigroup, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, MUFG, SBICAP and Standard Chartered Bank were the Joint Bookrunners for this offering." - IANS