OCBC to issue A$150m of senior 2-year notes

OCBC Bank has priced A$150 million (S$139.5 million) of senior floating-rate notes due 2022 under its US$30 billion global medium term note programme.

They will be issued above par at an issue price of 100.315 per cent and pay coupons at the three-month Bank Bill Swap reference rate plus 0.62 per cent per annum, payable quarterly in arrear.

Net proceeds from the issuance will be used for general corporate purposes, the lender said in a filing on Wednesday evening after trading hours.

The notes will be issued by OCBC, acting through its Sydney branch, and are expected to be repo (repurchase agreement) eligible by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The notes are expected to be rated Aa1 by Moody's, AA- by S&P Global Ratings and AA- by Fitch Ratings. They will be issued on Jan 15 and are expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange on Jan 16.

The new A$150 million notes will be consolidated to form a single series with the A$550 million of senior floating-rate notes due 2022 which were issued on May 23, 2019.

Westpac Banking Corporation was the sole lead manager and bookrunner for this issue.

Separately, OCBC on Wednesday evening announced it has hired former HSBC Greater China CEO Helen Wong to lead its wholesale banking unit.

OCBC shares closed up S$0.01 or 0.1 per cent to S$11.01 on Wednesday.