State Bank of India Raises Rs 5,000 Cr Through AT1 Bonds

Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI) The nation's largest lender State Bank of India has raised Rs 5,000 crore through its second Basel III compliant additional tier 1 (AT1) bond sale this fiscal.

The bank, in a statement on Thursday, said the perpetual bond with a call option after 10 years and every anniversary thereafter, is priced at a coupon of 8.34 per cent.

The issue got an overwhelming response with an oversubscription of 2.65 times from a range of investors with 108 bids of Rs 5,294 crores against the base issue size of Rs 2,000 crore. The main investors include mutual funds, provident and pension funds, banks, and insurance companies, among others, the statement said.

Its Chairman Dinesh Khara said the tight pricing and the diverse investor base for an instrument, which has its own challenges, shows the trust investors place in the bank.

The chairman said that going by the high response, the bank has decided to accept bids of Rs 5,000 crore at a coupon rate of 8.34 per cent payable annually.

The bonds were rated AA+ with a stable outlook. The issuance is significant as the bank has been able to diversify and raise long-term non-equity regulatory capital.