Woori Bank said on Tuesday it successfully issued $600 million in senior foreign currency bonds.

The issuance was the first public offering of foreign-currency bonds by a commercial bank this year. It was structured as a dual-tranche deal combining a three-year floating-rate note and a five-year fixed-rate note.

The rates were set at SOFR plus 48 basis points and the U.S. five-year Treasury plus 33 basis points. Both tranches set record-low spreads for commercial banks, it said.

Earlier, Woori Bank visited the Americas and Europe in November to meet investors. This month, just ahead of the issuance, it held investor briefings in Asian capital markets including Singapore and Hong Kong.

Overseas investors were reported to have highly rated Woori Bank's capital adequacy, which was clearly improved compared with other banks. Key factors behind the strong demand were analysed as improved capital ratios and net interest margin through asset rebalancing, and active asset quality management, including reduced non-performing loans and delinquency rates.

A Woori Bank official said the issuance was significant because it expanded the foreign-currency funding approach that has been handled by its headquarters and laid the groundwork for overseas branches to issue bonds independently in the future. The official said the competitive pricing secured in the deal would serve as a favourable benchmark for overseas branches in London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore to manage funds efficiently in line with local market conditions.