SINGAPORE — Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation has kicked off bookbuilding on its first Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 issue, which is expected to generate keen interest.
The non-cumulative, non-convertible perpetual with a call at year five is being marketed at a guidance of 4 per cent area.
The bonds will be rated A3/BBB-/BBB, way below the issuer's ratings of Aa1/AA-/AA-.
There is a reset to a new fixed rate equal to the five-year Singapore dollar SOR plus the initial spread.
The trigger event will be when either the Monetary Authority of Singapore notifies the bank that a write-off is necessary or the MAS decides on a public sector injection of capital. When this happens, a partial or full writedown will be imposed on the bondholders.
OCBC is sole bookrunner and will be joint lead manager with Citi and JP Morgan.
Pricing is expected as early as today. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. REUTERS
