DBS BANK SUCCESSFULLY PRICES
USD1.5 BILLION FLOATING RATE SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE 2017 AND
USD500 MILLION 5.125% SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE 2017
* * *
SINGAPORE, May 11, 2007 - DBS Bank said today it successfully priced
an international offering of USD1.5 billion floating rate subordinated
notes due 2017 ("Series A Notes") and USD500 million 5.125%
subordinated notes due 2017 ("Series B Notes", together with the Series
A Notes, "Notes"). This is the first issue of securities qualifying
as Lower Tier 2 capital by a Singapore bank.
The Notes have a 10-year maturity with a call option and coupon step-up
after the fifth year.
The Notes are expected to qualify as Lower Tier 2 capital of DBS Bank.
The new capital will be used for general corporate purposes, and to
augment DBS Bank's Tier 2 capital.
The Series A Notes bear a coupon of 22 basis points above the benchmark
LIBOR with interest payable quarterly. If the Series A Notes are not
called on the fifth year, the coupon will be stepped up on the call
date to a floating rate equal to 122 basis points over three-month LIBOR.
The Series B Notes bear a fixed coupon of 5.125% with interest payable
semi-annually. If the Series B Notes are not called on the fifth year,
the coupon will be reset to a floating rate and stepped up to 122 basis
points over the three-month LIBOR.
Jeanette Wong, Chief Financial Officer of DBS Bank, said: "We
are delighted with the interest we received from a broad range of high-quality
investors. The demand reflected DBS’ strong operating performance and
superior asset quality."
The Notes were distributed to institutional investors, 38% to banks,
58% to fund managers and the remainder to the insurance sector and pension
funds, with 27% placed in Asia, 40% placed in Europe and 33% placed
in North America.
The Notes have been rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service, A+ by Standard
& Poor's Ratings Group and A+ by Fitch Ratings Ltd.
The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell
or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States.
The proposed offering described herein will not be registered under
the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or with any securities regulatory authority
of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States and may not
be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, into the United States unless
the securities are so registered or an exemption from the registration
requirements is available.
About DBS
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial
services groups in Asia with operations in 15 markets. The largest bank
in Singapore as measured by assets, and a leading bank in Hong Kong,
DBS' "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings are among the
highest in the Asia-Pacific region. DBS has leading positions in consumer
banking, treasury and markets, asset management, securities brokerage,
equity and debt fund raising. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore
and Hong Kong, DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail customers
through its operations in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
and The Philippines. More information about DBS Group Holdings and DBS
Bank can be obtained from our website www.dbs.com.