YES Bank has raised $600 million through its first US dollar denominated bond offering in the international debt markets.
This bond issuance — under $ 1 billion Medium Term Note programme — is for a tenor of 5 years and is rated Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service.
The bonds are being listed on London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market (ISM); the Singapore Stock Exchange and the India International Exchange IFSC at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.
The final order book was more than 1.8 times oversubscribed, from 90 accounts pricing at a spread of 130 basis points over 5-year US Treasury yield.
YES Bank will use the proceeds to fund the bank’s IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City and expand IBU’s growing business opportunities. YES Bank is the first lender based out of GIFT City to launch a Medium Term Note (MTN) programme.
YES Bank’s bond issuance comes on the heels of Export-Import Bank of India’s $1 billion bond on London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. Rana Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, YES Bank, said: “This landmark issue is the first foreign currency bond offering by YES Bank under our newly established MTN programme, and it’s significant over-subscription as well as high quality investor base is testament to the commitment of global investors in the Bank”.Darko Hajdukovic, Head of Analytics, Fixed Income and Funds, Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange Group, said: “We congratulate YES Bank on its successful $600 million bond issuance--a first for YES Bank and a first for GIFT City. Through our international securities market, YES Bank is accessing a new international channel of finance and supporting the creation of a dynamic financial services hub in India.”
Investor interest
The bond received strong international investor interest, with 58 per cent allocated in Asia, 41 per cent in EMEA and one per cent in offshore US. The investor base consisted of 46 per cent asset managers, 38 per cent banks, 11 per cent insurance companies and five per cent private banks.