SBI mops up $1bn via international bonds sale

SBI mops up $1bn via international bonds saleState Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest bank, has confirmed that it has raised one billion dollars by successfully selling its five-year senior unsecured bonds.

The bonds were sold at 255 basis points over five-year US Treasuries to yield 3.27 per cent.

Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman of the bank, said, "SBI is very pleased that the transaction received such success. The strength of the order book and the fine pricing reflects the level of investors' confidence in the SBI credit."

However, the public-sector bank had to pay a slightly higher premium to make the international bond sale program successful.

In February, private-sector bank HDFC mopped up $500 million at a yield of 3.06 per cent, 21 basis points lower than the price that SBI has got this time around.

An investment banker said that SBI had to pay a little higher premium than HDFC because the amount it raised was larger than the amount raised by the private lender.

The latest sale was SBI's third international bonds sale. Previously in 2010 and 2012, SBI had raised $1 billion and $1.25 billion, respectively.