Union National Bank (UNB), which is 50%-owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has issued a $600 million bond, its first appearance in international debt markets since 2012.
The issuance is part of a trend for Gulf banks to seek to raise money from international markets as low oil prices cause liquidity in the region to fall. News of the issuance comes as another local bank, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, is reported to be in the process of issuing a bond worth at least $500 million.
UNB says strong demand allowed it to reduce the price by 20 basis points to a spread of 170 basis points above the US dollar five-year mid-swap rate. The coupon is 2.75% a year.
The bank says 110 investors took part, with 39% of the issuance allocated to Middle Eastern investors, 30% to Asian investors, 17% to UK investors, 7% to European investors and 7% to others.
ANZ, Commerzbank, HSBC, Mizuho, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank were joint lead managers and joint bookrunners on the issue.
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