 "ICICI Bank plans to raise infra bonds")
ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, has informed the stock exchanges that it is planning to raise infrastructure bonds. However, it did not specify the amount that it is looking at raising.
"Bank is currently evaluating issuance of long-term bonds in the nature of debentures for lending to long-term projects in infrastructure and affordable housing on a private placement basis," it said in a filing to the exchanges.
The notice added that this borrowing proposal would be discussed in the meeting of the committee of executive directors next week. At the end of the December quarter, in the composition of borrowing, long-term infrastructure bonds accounted for Rs 6,850 crore.
The bank's interest in raising money via long-term bonds had picked up after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had made changes in the regulation, announcing that such bonds (tenor of more than seven years) would be exempted from cash and statutory reserve requirements, if the proceeds were used to fund new long-term infrastructure projects and affordable housing. Also, the loans funded via this process would be exempted from the computation of adjusted net bank credit for the purpose of calculating priority sector lending requirements.
"Bank is currently evaluating issuance of long-term bonds in the nature of debentures for lending to long-term projects in infrastructure and affordable housing on a private placement basis," it said in a filing to the exchanges.
The notice added that this borrowing proposal would be discussed in the meeting of the committee of executive directors next week. At the end of the December quarter, in the composition of borrowing, long-term infrastructure bonds accounted for Rs 6,850 crore.
The bank's interest in raising money via long-term bonds had picked up after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had made changes in the regulation, announcing that such bonds (tenor of more than seven years) would be exempted from cash and statutory reserve requirements, if the proceeds were used to fund new long-term infrastructure projects and affordable housing. Also, the loans funded via this process would be exempted from the computation of adjusted net bank credit for the purpose of calculating priority sector lending requirements.