Standard Chartered Plc, the UK bank that makes most of its profit in Asia, hired Credit Suisse Group, Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS AG and itself to sell dollar-denominated fixed-rate perpetual bonds, according to an e-mail to investors, Bloomberg reports.
Standard Chartered’s debt is rated the sixth-highest investment grade of A by Standard & Poor’s, one step lower at A3 by Moody’s Investors Service, and a notch higher at A+ by Fitch Ratings. Perpetual bonds have no stated maturities.
The London-based bank last sold perpetual debt in May 2007, raising $750 million of 7.014% bond priced at 203 basis points above US Treasuries, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The securities now yield 7.94%, according to HSBC Holdings Plc’s prices. A basis point is 0.01%.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third-largest bank by revenue, last week sold $1.8 billion of perpetual bonds to boost its capital. The notes, rated A2 by Moody’s, were priced to pay 8.75% coupon, data compiled by Bloomberg show.