NH Nonghyup Bank Successfully Issues $500 Million Social Bond for COVID-19 Response

Interest Rate Set at 1.306%, Adding 100bp to the 5-Year U.S. Treasury Yield

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] NH Nonghyup Bank announced on the 14th that it has successfully issued a global bond worth USD 500 million with a 5-year maturity to investors worldwide.

The credit ratings assigned to the bonds issued this time were A1 (Moody's) and A+ (S&P). Due to strong investor interest, the issuance yield was set at 1.306%, which is 40 basis points lower than the initially offered rate. This corresponds to the US 5-year Treasury yield plus 100 basis points.

The subscription attracted USD 2.35 billion from 132 institutional investors. By region, investors were composed of 62% from Asia, 15% from Europe, and 23% from the United States. By investor type, asset management companies accounted for 55%, banks 22%, insurance companies 21%, and others 2%.

An NH Nonghyup Bank official stated, "While achieving the largest performance since the bank's launch, we gained trust in sustainable growth based on stable asset soundness and capital adequacy, and actively promoted the importance of being the only agricultural policy financial institution in Korea, which drew a positive response from overseas investors." He added, "The funds raised through this issuance will be used to solve social issues corresponding to environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and sustainable management systems, such as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners affected by COVID-19, making its significance even greater."