Key Takeaways
- RBL Bank plans to raise $500 million through its debut U.S. dollar-denominated bond sale.
- The five-year bond issue is part of the bank’s $1 billion medium-term note programme.
- The bank aims to secure a spread of 150 basis points over U.S. Treasuries.
RBL Bank, a private-sector lender in India, is set to launch its first U.S. dollar-denominated bond issue, aiming to raise approximately $500 million, according to three anonymous bankers.
The bank is marketing a five-year issue as part of its $1 billion medium-term note programme, which is majority-owned by Emirates NBD, a Dubai-based financial institution.
Initial price guidance for the bond issue has been set at U.S. Treasuries plus a spread of 150 basis points, with the final pricing potentially seeing a contraction of 25 to 30 basis points, the bankers said.
RBL Bank’s GIFT City branch will handle the issuance of the bonds, and the notes are expected to be rated “Baa2” by Moody’s and “BBB-plus” by CareEdge, in line with the issuer’s ratings.
The bank, which is majority-owned by Emirates NBD, is part of a broader trend among Indian banks to tap into the international debt market, with other state-run lenders, such as Bank of Maharashtra and Canara Bank, also planning to issue dollar bonds under the central bank’s concessional swap facility by the end of September.
This move comes as Indian banks have already raised $13 billion through the sale of dollar bonds in 2026, indicating a growing appetite for international funding among Indian financial institutions.
The central bank is likely to deploy foreign exchange (FX) swaps to manage liquidity driven by overseas deposits, traders say, as banks continue to explore international markets for funding.
