Kuwait’s NBK Sets Price Guidance For Capital-Boosting Bond

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the Gulf state’s largest lender, has set price guidance for a dollar-denominated bond issue that will enhance its capital reserves and should price later on Wednesday, a document from lead arrangers showed.

The lender has set price guidance for the bond, which will boost its Tier 1 — or core — capital, at 5.875 per cent on Wednesday, after marking initial price thoughts in the high five per cent area on Tuesday.

Order books for the transaction, which will be of benchmark size and have a perpetual lifespan, have topped $1.1 billion and the book is set to close at 1030 GMT, the document showed.

Benchmark size is traditionally understood to mean upwards of $500 million.

The bonds will be issued through a special purpose vehicle, NBK Tier I Financing Ltd, and be guaranteed by NBK, which is rated A-plus by Standard and Poor’s and Aa3 by Moody’s.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are the joint global coordinators for the transaction, joined by Citigroup, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and NBK Capital as joint lead managers.