NH Nonghyup Bank Issues $600 Million Global Agriculture Support Social Bond

"NongHyup Bank Foreign Currency Bonds Record-Breaking Demand"

On the 16th, NH Nonghyup Bank announced that it successfully issued a $600 million (approximately 831.54 billion KRW) dollar-denominated global agriculture support social bond the previous day.

A social bond is a type of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) bond, a special-purpose bond whose raised funds are restricted for use in solving social issues.

This bond issuance was the first since Moody's credit rating upgrade (A1→Aa3) in November last year, securing final orders exceeding $5.1 billion, about nine times the target amount. This is the highest order multiple among financial institutions this year.

The deal was led by Bank of America Securities, Citi, Cr?dit Agricole CIB, HSBC, MUFG, and Standard Chartered. NH Investment & Securities, a subsidiary of Nonghyup Financial Group, acted as a co-manager.

A two-week roadshow was conducted across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), with investor distribution by region at 89% Asia, 5.5% Middle East and Europe, and 5.5% United States.

The spread was tightened by 40 basis points for 3 years and 32 basis points for 5 years compared to the initial offered rate, with final issuance rates at 3 years (floating) SOFR+80bp and 5 years (fixed) 4.798%, securing funding at rates lower than market-traded bonds.

The funds raised from this social bond issuance will be fully utilized for creating social value by supporting farmers and the agricultural sector financially.

An NH Nonghyup Bank official stated, "Despite headline risks such as the recent shooting incident involving former U.S. President Trump, we successfully completed the bond issuance by gaining recognition from overseas investors for our stability as the only domestic agricultural policy financial institution, as well as asset soundness and profitability."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.