KB Kookmin Bank sells US$500 mln bonds overseas

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- Major South Korean lender KB Kookmin Bank said Friday it has successfully floated senior bonds worth US$500 million to foreign investors.

The five-year bonds carry an interest rate of 1.872 percent or the yield on five-year U.S. Treasury notes plus a spread of 150 basis points and will be listed on the Singaporean market, the lender said.

Senior bonds refer to debts that a company must pay first in the event of liquidation.

The debt sale, which was 7.8 times oversubscribed, was co-managed by BofA Securities, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered Bank.

Asian investors bought 70 percent of the bonds; Americans, 19 percent; and European investors, the remainder.

KB Kookmin Bank said it represents the first overseas debt sale by a South Korean issuer to cope with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The proceeds will be used to repay money borrowed to address ecofriendly and social problems, said the bank, the flagship of leading financial holding firm KB Financial Group Inc.

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