The Bank’s eligible senior non-preferred Eurobonds were subscribed at a fixed coupon of 4.136% p.a. for the first five years, respectively at a margin of 1.62 p.p. above the 5-year euro mid-swap reference rate, approximately 0.35-0.38 p.p. below the yield on eurobonds with similar maturity issued by the Romanian state.
The issue attracted significant interest from over 180 international and local institutional investors, mainly investment funds, insurers, and pension funds from the United Kingdom, France, and the DACH region, generating the third largest order book (over EUR2.8 billion final book and over EUR3.3 billion maximum book) for an MREL-eligible bond issue by a CEE bank, as well as the most competitive financing margin obtained by a Romanian bank for an MREL Eurobond issue.
The bonds were rated Baa2 by Moody’s, one notch above Romania’s sovereign rating (Baa3), and are to be included in the bank’s own funds and eligible liabilities base, subject to approval by the National Bank of Romania. The transaction was brokered by Bank of America, ING Bank N.V., Natixis, and Raiffeisen Bank International as global lead managers and Raiffeisen Bank S.A. as co-manager, with the bonds to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
“We would like to thank all investors who supported us in this transaction. The significant interest they have shown confirms the soundness of our business model, based on our commitment to supporting the sustainable development of the Romanian economy through financial solutions tailored to our customers’ needs. At the same time, the success of the transaction also represents a sign of confidence from investors in the anticipated trajectory and growth potential of the Romanian economy, in a global context marked by economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The bonds issued strengthen our own funds and eligible liabilities base, giving us the capacity to support the local economy with financing of approximately EUR2.5 billion,” said Alina Rus, Vice President & CFO of Raiffeisen Bank Romania.
The transaction represents the ninth series of bonds issued by the bank since the launch of the EMTN bond issuance program, bringing the total amount of financing raised on the capital market to approximately EUR1.6 billion.