ICICI Bank's $1 billion five-year dollar bond was 2.3 times oversubscribed, the largest single-tranche Indian dollar issue this year, as banks rush before RBI's swap window closes.
ICICI Bank raised $1 billion through a five-year senior unsecured dollar bond, its first public dollar bond since 2017 and the largest single-tranche dollar issue by any Indian borrower this year.
The Rule 144A/Reg S bond priced at 100 basis points over the five-year US Treasury yield, tightening 30 bps from the initial guidance of Treasury-plus 130 bps. The coupon is 5.46%. Orders topped $2.3 billion, roughly 2.3 times the offering.
Demand came from US and Asia-Pacific investors, with participation from Europe, West Asia and Africa. Institutional fund managers led the order book. Official institutions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and banks also bought in.
Moody's rates the bonds Baa3. S&P rates them BBB.
The deal was issued under ICICI Bank's $7.5 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme, the bank said in an exchange filing Friday. Proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes. HSBC acted as joint global coordinator and joint bookrunner.
"The transaction highlights ICICI Bank's strong credit profile and consistently robust financial performance over the years. It also marks the largest single-tranche US dollar issuance from India in 2026," said Siddharth Sharma, managing director and head of institutional clients group at HSBC India. "The oversubscription and broad-based investor participation across geographies reinforce confidence in India's resilient macroeconomic environment."
The issuance taps into the Reserve Bank of India's concessional swap window, which lowers hedging costs for eligible overseas borrowings. The facility remains open until December 30. Several Indian lenders are preparing dollar bonds before it closes.
HDFC Bank was the first to access the market after the RBI announced the facility, raising $750 million through a five-year bond at a spread of 90 bps. Power Finance Corporation followed with $300 million at Treasury plus 105 bps. Axis Bank raised $300 million at Treasury plus 110 bps. State Bank of India raised $500 million through a private placement.
HDFC Bank's final coupon was 5.067%. PFC and Axis Bank priced at 5.32% and 5.35%, respectively.
Other lenders evaluating dollar bond offerings include Federal Bank, Punjab National Bank, SBI, Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank has yet to decide.
ICICI Bank (IBN stock page) carries an Alpha Score of 57 out of 100, a "Moderate" rating from AlphaScala's proprietary model. HDFC Bank (HDB stock page) scores 36 ("Mixed"), and Moody's (MCO stock page) scores 51 ("Mixed").
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