Indian banks set to tap bond market to lock rates, fund credit

MUMBAI: Indian banks are set to step up fund raising through bonds in next few weeks to take advantage of a recent fall in yields and meet capital requirements amid a pick-up in credit growth, analysts said.

State-run banks such as Bank of India and Bank of Baroda are in talks with merchant bankers to raise funds via Basel III-compliant additional tier-I perpetual bonds, according to arrangers.

Bank of India is planning to raise up to 15 billion rupees ($183.67 million) through tier-I bonds and may tap the market by the end of November, a senior official from the bank said on Wednesday.

“Many investors have shown their interest and accordingly approached us for participation in our additional tier-I bond issue,” said the official, who refused to be named because the matter is not public yet.

Union Bank of India has announced plans to raise up to 22 billion rupees via tier-II bonds, while Jammu and Kashmir Bank is also at an early stage to raise 15 billion rupees via tier-II bond offering, three merchant bankers with the knowledge of the matter said.

“In order to meet the rising credit demand, banks are raising additional capital in the form bonds so as to increase their balance sheet size,” said Sameer Kaul, managing director and chief executive officer of TrustPlutus Wealth India.

Separately, private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced plans to raise 15 billion rupees through 7-year infrastructure bonds, merchant bankers said. State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, is also considering raising up to 100 billion rupees via infrastructure bonds, it informed the exchanges on Thursday.