SBI raises $500 mn via offshore bonds at 5.25% coupon; stock edges higher

State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has raised $500 million through the issuance of Regulation S bonds at a coupon rate of 5.25%, securing strong demand from global investors amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

The bonds, issued through SBI’s London branch, are benchmarked against the five-year US Treasury and priced at a spread of 88 basis points over the benchmark. The notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX-ST), India International Exchange (India INX) and NSE International Exchange (NSE-IX), SBI said in a statement.

Following the announcement, SBI shares rose as much as 0.6% to ₹1,086.55 on the BSE, while its market capitalisation climbed to ₹9.97 lakh crore.

The PSU bank stock has gained about 10% so far in 2026 and is up more than 30% over the past year. However, it remains below its 52-week high of ₹1,234.80 touched on February 24, 2026, and has declined nearly 10% over the past six months.

As per the release, the transaction attracted an overwhelming response, with the order book peaking at $2.46 billion from 145 investors, representing nearly five times the issue size. Strong demand allowed SBI to tighten its initial price guidance substantially, from the five-year US Treasury plus 120 basis points to plus 88 basis points, resulting in a 32-basis-point compression.

The bonds carry ratings of BBB from S&P, BBB- from Fitch and BBB+/Stable from CareEdge Global.

“The successful pricing of $500 million, during the ongoing global uncertainties, is a testament to the strong appetite for bonds of SBI and to the diversified investor base the Bank has in offshore capital markets,” SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said.

Setty said the transaction was priced at the tightest spread among Indian public bond issuances since the Reserve Bank of India’s swap window announcement, reflecting investor confidence in India’s growth prospects and SBI’s credit quality. He added that the tight pricing demonstrated containment in borrowing costs for Indian issuers despite the evolving global macroeconomic environment.

BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole CIB, Emirates NBD Bank, HSBC, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint bookrunners for the issue.

The latest fundraising comes shortly after SBI raised ₹4,691 crore through its first Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bond issuance of the current financial year on July 29. The perpetual bonds, which carry a call option after five years and on each anniversary thereafter, were issued at a coupon of 7.75%.

The AT1 issue also received strong investor interest, attracting bids worth more than two times the ₹3,000-crore base issue size. A total of 89 bids were received from a diversified set of institutional investors, including provident and pension funds, mutual funds and banks.

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