Indian banks raise $4 bn by issuing global bonds, trend to continue: Report

Indian banks kicked off the fundraising wave with a $750 million issue from HDFC Bank, and the most recent tranche came from Bank of Baroda, which raised a total of $700 million via two securities.

Over the past few months, Indian financial institutions have gathered roughly $4 billion through overseas bond offerings, and according to one deal arranger, this activity is expected to keep gaining traction through the remainder of H2 2026.

The fundraising window ran from June 16 to August 13, beginning with HDFC Bank’s $750 million debut and concluding with Bank of Baroda’s combined $700 million raise across two instruments.

“Given the robust appetite seen in recent transactions and sustained interest from global investors in Indian bank credit, we anticipate the momentum will persist into the second half of 2026,” remarked Citi India.

Although Citi did not disclose the exact volumes it facilitated for Indian lenders, it noted that it has been “actively engaged” in this trend.

In early June, the RBI introduced a concessional foreign‑exchange swap facility and other measures to lure more foreign currency into the economy as the rupee pressed toward historic lows.

While the widely‑used FCNR(B) deposit route has been curtailed, banks still have until December to tap the RBI‑provided incentives for raising funds.

Additional deals highlighted by Citi include a $500 million five‑year bond from SBI, the nation’s biggest lender, priced on August 11.

The note also observed that, at T+88 (0.88 percentage points over the U.S. Treasury bill), SBI’s issuance secured the narrowest five‑year spread ever recorded for an Indian bank since its own September‑last‑year offering.

ICICI Bank, the second‑largest private‑sector bank, tapped $1 billion via a five‑year note at a spread of T+100, marking the largest USD senior bond sold by an Indian private bank in almost fourteen years.

Earlier on June 23, Axis Bank secured a combined $800 million through two instruments: $300 million from five‑year senior unsecured fixed‑rate notes at T+110 and $500 million from USD Perpetual NC5.5 RegS subordinated notes fixed at 6.875 percent.

Many of these issues attracted order books that far exceeded the amounts on offer, the note said, citing $2.1 billion of demand for HDFC Bank’s tranche and $2.4 billion for SBI’s offerings.

It added that lenders managed to tighten final pricing relative to initial guidance thanks to the strong demand.

Published on August 20, 2026