Shinhan Bank said on April 3 it had successfully completed a $600 million issuance of global senior foreign-currency bonds on April 1.

The bonds consist of a 3-year floating-rate note (FRN) and a 5-year fixed-rate bond (FXD), with $300 million allocated to each. The spread was set at SOFR plus 0.58 percentage points for the 3-year FRN and at the comparable U.S. Treasury yield plus 0.43 percentage points for the 5-year FXD.

Shinhan Bank has been reviewing the timing of the issue while closely monitoring signs of recovering investor demand amid recent volatility in global markets. It moved quickly to start bookbuilding after identifying a point when market sentiment improved, leading to a stable issuance.

Bookbuilding proceeded smoothly on solid demand from shortly after the start of the Asian trading session, securing orders of about $7 billion at peak. Shinhan Bank responded to market uncertainty by swiftly setting the final guidance rate after the Asia order book closed.

The final spread narrowed by a total of 37 basis points from the initial guidance, marking the largest spread tightening among Korean issues since an expansion in geopolitical risks. This minimized the new-issue premium and confirmed the trust of global investors once again.

The bonds were issued in the form of development finance bonds, a first for a domestic commercial bank, aiming to create social and economic value such as responding to climate change, expanding financial inclusion and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

A Shinhan Bank official said, "Even as volatility in global markets continues, we were able to maintain stable issuance results by expanding our investor base and communicating continuously." The official added, "We will continue sustainable growth by expanding ESG-based funding and building on trust with global investors."