NBG raises £200 million from placement of senior preferred bonds

National Bank of Greece (NBG), the second in asset value lender in Greece, on Friday successfully completed the placement of £200 million in senior preferred bonds in international capital markets.

The auction was the first with the UK currency by a Greek-based issuer since 2009 with 70 percent of the bond placed with foreign investors.

The bond matures in 4.5 years and is callable in 3.5 years. The coupon of the bond is 8.75 percent. The final cost for ATHEX-listed NBG, after a cross-currency swap, is 6.97 percent, or 421 bps over the six-month Euribor.
The issuance is part of the systemic lender’s strategy to raise its Minimum Required Eligible Liabilities (MREL), a supervisory requirement for all banks.

Goldman Sachs Group was the sole bookrunner of the issue.