State Bank of India raises Rs 3,717 cr from its third AT1 bond sale

The nation's largest lender State Bank of India on Wednesday raised Rs 3,717 crore through additional tier 1 bond sale.

The bank said this is the third Basel III compliant additional tier 1 (AT1) bond sale and the latest issue was closed at a coupon rate of 8.25 per cent.

The proceeds will be used to augment its additional tier 1 capital and overall capital base of the bank and also for strengthening capital adequacy in accordance with RBI guidelines.

These perpetual bonds have a call option after 10 years and every anniversary thereafter.

On the investor interest, the bank said the issue attracted an overwhelming response from investors with bids of Rs 4,537 crore from 53 bids from provident and pension funds and insurance companies and was oversubscribed by about 2.27 times against the base issue of Rs 2,000 crore.

Given the high response, the bank has decided to accept Rs 3,717 crore at a coupon rate of 8.25 per cent payable annually. This represents spread of 66 bps over the corresponding G-Sec par curve on March 8.

Prior to this bond sale the bank had raised Rs 4,544 crore on February 21, 2023, from similar bonds at a spread of 71 bps over the corresponding G-Sec par curve on the date of bidding.

The bank said the issuance is also significant as it could diversify and raise long-term additional tier 1 capital with a call option after 10 years and this will help the bank in managing its capital adequacy effectively.

Of the total outstanding of the bank's additional tier 1 bond of Rs 49,842.70 crore, Basel III AT1 bonds with call option of five years is Rs 41,581.70 crore and AT1 bonds with call option of 10 years is Rs 8,261 crore.

The bank said it believes this issuance may help in developing a long-term AT1 bond curve and encourage other banks to effectively manage their AT1 capital.