SBI doubles MTN programme to raise funds abroad
23 Sep 2011
Seeking to raise more money abroad, State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, on Thursday said it has doubled its medium term note (MTN) programme to $10 billion to fund overseas business.
The MTN programme has been upsized from $5 billion to $10 billion to meet an increasing demand for high-value loans from Indian companies, SBI informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
An MTN programme allows a bank to raise funds on an ongoing basis through different products such as floating rate notes and fixed rate bonds. Investors in such dollar bonds are usually other banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and private equity firms.
The offering circular under the MTN programme has been updated on 19 September 2011, with the audited financial data of the bank as on 31 March 2011, and filed with the Singapore Exchange, it said.
Other banks, including ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd, have raised at least $1 billion each through MTN issues. Bank of India, IDBI Bank Ltd?, and Bank of Baroda, among others, have also raised money overseas through similar issues.
Meanwhile, SBI extended its 25 basis point concessional home loan scheme till December. Under the scheme, SBI offers a 25 bps discount on interest rates on its card rate across the tenure of a floating home loan.
The scheme which was open till 31 October 2011 has now been extended till 31 December 2011.
