PNB Housing Finance raises fresh $75 million ECB from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp

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PNB Housing Finance Limited said on Tuesday it has raised fresh 75 million dollars (about Rs 522 crore) of external commercial borrowing (ECB) from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in Singapore.

The ECB is under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) automatic route of approval. The proceeds will be used by the company as per applicable RBI guidelines.

"Continuous raising of ECBs under the present market environment and that too from global financial institutions and banks only exhibits the strong fundamentals, core strength and inherent growth prospects of the company and the trust of the international lenders in us," said Managing Director Sanjaya Gupta.

"This facility will not only augment our liquidity but will further balance our long-term asset liability position," he said in a statement adding this is the second ECB borrowing of the company during financial year 2019-20.

The landed cost of fully-hedged facility has been much lower than the present domestic pricing for similar tenure, said Gupta.

"The RBI has allowed to borrow ECB up to 750 million dollars annually under the automatic route and we reiterate considering the other ECB proposals which are in pipeline, that in the coming months our company will further utilise the facility," he said.

On July 29, PNB Housing Finance had announced raising 100 million dollars (about Rs 690 crore) from International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, for on-lending to buyers in affordable housing projects.

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