UOB prices 750m euro fixed-rate covered bonds due 2029 at 0.1%

UOB said it saw strong investor interest for its 750 million euro (S$1.22 billion) fixed-rate covered bonds due 2029 which were priced at 0.1 per cent.

The deal approached a final order book of 800 million euros at reoffer from 40 accounts, UOB said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The bonds will be issued below par at 99.809 per cent and will be the ninth series under the bank's US$8 billion global covered bond programme. UOB noted it is the first Singapore covered bond in 2021 and the longest-dated covered bond by a Singapore bank.

The bonds will be guaranteed as to payments of interest and principal by Glacier Eighty. The guarantee is secured by a portfolio of loans purchased by Glacier Eight from UOB and other Glacier Eight assets.

"Very high quality orders" from central banks, official institutions and fund managers took up 60 per cent of the final allocations. The remainder went to banks, insurance and pension funds.

Around half, or 51 per cent of the orders came from Germany or Australia, 16 per cent came from Benelux, while Scandinavian investors made up 13 per cent of orders. The rest came from investors in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and others.

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The covered bonds are expected to be rated Aaa by Moody's Investors Service and AAA by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, UOB said. It expects to issue the bonds on May 25.

UOB, BNP Paribas, HSBC Continental Europe and Norddeutsche Landesbank - Girozentrale - have been appointed as lead managers for the covered bonds.

UOB head of group central treasury unit Koh Chin Chin said: "We are thankful for the participation from high quality investors who have supported us through the years and are also pleased to have achieved a large issuance at attractive pricing despite the challenging market backdrop."

UOB shares closed at S$25.40 on Wednesday, down 1.4 per cent or S$0.35.