SBI raises Rs 1,500 cr via foreign bond issue

The nation's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has raised 325 million Swiss franc (around Rs 1,500 crore) via an international bond issue to meet its increasing forex needs.

The issue is in the form of senior debt fixed rate bonds with a maturity of five years and comes under the medium term notes (MTN) programme, a senior official in the bank's international business group told PTI today.

This is the third bond issue by the state-run bank this fiscal under its MTN programme, with the previous two being the $1-billion issue in July 2010 and a 750-million euro issue last November.

The current issue carries a coupon rate of 3.37%, the official, who wished to be unidentified, added.

The bonds are payable annually in the form of Regulation-S (Reg-S) global notes. Reg-S bonds are open to all investors barring those in the US.

Companies normally issue two types of bonds - Reg-S and 144-A - which are open to all investors, including the American institutional investors, but not US retail investors.

The bonds will be issued through SBI's London branch from February 22, and shall be listed on the Swiss Exchange. The bonds will mature on February 22, 2016.