ICICI Bank Launches $1.45 Billion Syndicated Offshore Loan

ICICI Bank Ltd. launched a syndicated offshore loan of approximately $1.45 billion, expanding an initial $1 billion agreement with Bank of America Corp. to include Mizuho Bank Ltd., Mashreqbank PSC, and United Overseas Bank Ltd. The four-year loan carries a margin of 110 basis points over the US benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate.

This borrowing follows a $1 billion five-year bond sale conducted last month and potential plans for an additional $500 million in offshore bonds. The surge in fundraising is supported by a Reserve Bank of India facility introduced in June, which provides a concessional foreign-exchange swap rate of 1.5% to reduce hedging costs.

The bank is utilizing these foreign-currency inflows to support the rupee, which has weakened due to the war in Iran.