Swiss pure play private bank Julius Baer, which calls Asia its second home, has placed a second SGD-denominated perpetual tier 1 subordinated bond in Singapore.
Last year the Zurich-based private bank, extended its reach in Asia using the Singapore stock exchange to bolster its capital base. According to the bank it was the first foreign bank to issue such a bond directly in Singapore, underlining the importance of Asia as the company's second home market.
Now After a short book-building process, the bank has successfully placed SGD 325 million of perpetual non-cumulative high-trigger Additional Tier 1 securities with private banks and institutional investors.
For Julius Baer the SGD AT1 market has again offered the most attractive conditions for the targeted amount resulting in an even lower coupon level than in the previous transaction. The placement has been executed in a short time frame in order to take advantage of an attractive market window.
The bank said this second transaction emphasises the importance of, and our commitment to, Asia as Julius Baer’s second home market and further diversifies the AT1 investor base.
Strong Performance of Inaugural Deal
The securities carry a coupon of 5.75 percent and include an optional redemption on 20 April 2022 or on 20 April of each year thereafter. The securities will be issued in denominations of SGD 250,000 and multiples thereof. The transaction helps to optimise Julius Baer Group’s capital structure, taking into account the transitional effects of the Basel III capital requirements, fully effective from the beginning of 2018.
«After last year’s successful debut transaction and the strong performance of our inaugural deal, we are proud that investors have welcomed us again in the Singapore market,» said Dieter A. Enkelmann, Chief Financial Officer of Julius Baer.
