OCBC prices 500m euro covered bonds, says transaction well-received

OCBC Bank said on Friday that it has priced 500 million euros (S$800.2 million) in fixed-rate covered bonds due 2022. The covered bonds will bear interest at a fixed rate of 0.25 per cent annum, payable annually in arrear.

"The issuance was the tightest of any euro covered bond issuance out of Singapore and Australia to date," the bank said.

"The transaction was well-received, with a strong order book that was more than three times covered."

The covered bonds, which are part of the bank's US$10 billion global covered bond programme, are expected to be rated Aaa by Moody's Investors Services Limited and AAA by Fitch Ratings Ltd. The transaction marks OCBC Bank's second euro covered bond issuance following its debut in March.

The net proceeds from the issue will be used for OCBC Bank's general corporate purposes, it said.

The bonds are expected to be issued on Oct 5 and listed on the Singapore Exchange on Oct 6.

Barclays Bank plc, Singapore branch; BNP Paribas; Crédit Agricole Corporate And Investment Bank, Singapore branch; DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank; Frankfurt am Main; JP Morgan Securities plc and OCBC Bank acted as the joint lead managers for this issue.