ICICI Bank gets S&P's stable rating

Global rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) has assigned a foreign currency BB/stable/B rating to ICICI Bank's multi-currency $1 billion, medium-term note (MTN).

This is in line with India's rating as S&P does not have a policy of piercing the country's sovereign rating.

The MTN programme will fund ICICI Bank's global expansion plans as the funds will not be repatriated back to the country, said the bank's deputy managing director Kalpana Morparia.

The bank proposes to issue senior notes and subordinated notes up to $1 billion, or the equivalent in other currencies. The proposed senior unsecured debt was rated BB, while the proposed subordinated debt was rated B+ by S&P.

The bank is filing a shelf prospectus with the Luxembourg Exchange to raise money over a period of time, which would help the bank scale up its overseas operations.

The global rating agency has, however, cautioned that future issues under the MTN programme may not necessarily be assigned the same ratings as that prevailing today, and will be assessed specifically.