Chilean lender Banco Bci returned to the international market after a two-year absence on Thursday to raise $500 million in the sale of perpetual bonds denominated in US dollars, a source involved in the deal told LatinFinance.
Bci priced the additional Tier 1 notes at par to yield 8.75% after opening the initial price talk in the low to mid-9% area and setting guidance at 8.85%, plus or minus five basis points, the source said.
Bank of America, BNP Paribas and HSBC were joint bookrunners on the bond sale, the source added.
Moody’s Investors Service assigned the notes an international Ba1(hyb) rating.
The perpetual notes have an optional redemption call after the first five years or “at any interest payment date thereafter,” Moody’s said in a report. The notes will be ranked junior to Bci’s existing and future senior obligations and senior only to its capital stock, the ratings agency added.
Bci last issued $500 million worth of 10-year, dollar-denominated bonds in the international market in October 2021 after a four-year absence. Since then, the lender has focused on issuing debt domestically, as well as in the Swiss market on two occasions, for covering its funding needs.