IDBI Bank raises $125 mn via bonds

Public sector lender IDBI Bank has raised $125-million foreign currency syndicated loan from the Singapore market to meet the growing demand from domestic corporates for foreign currency funds.

"As part of our $1.5-billion medium term note (MTN) programme for this fiscal, we have raised $125 million through a three-year bond issue. We mobilised this fund on November 1 in Singapore. With this, so far we have issued bonds worth $475 million this fiscal," IDBI Bank Chief Financial Officer P Sitaram told PTI here today.

He further said the issue had an overwhelming response, as more than a dozen foreign bankers were keen to participate. Some of the leading bankers who participated in the issue were BNP Paribas, RBS, StanChart, United Overseas Bank of Singapore and BoT Mitsubishi among others, Sitaram said.

The bonds, listed on the Singapore bourse, have a three year maturity and carry a coupon of Libor plus 185 basis points (bps).

Meanwhile, Sitaram said, IDBI is already expecting a major spurt in credit offtake since October and expects 8-10 per cent credit growth over March 2010 in the third quarter and around 18 per cent spurt quarter on quarter.

On the evolving interest rate scenario, he said the rates cannot go up further in the days ahead. Within hours of the Reserve Bank of India effecting yet another 25-bps spike in short-term lending and borrowing rates on Tuesday, IDBI Bank raised its deposit and lending rates by 50 bps.

It also raised rates on high-value housing loans in response to the RBI action to tighten norms for these advances.

Last week, IDBI reported a 69.11 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 429.10 crore for September quarter driven by an 18.37 per cent spurt in income to Rs 5,069.39 crore.