State Bank of India has raised $500mn through five-year dollar bonds, days after S&P Global Ratings upgraded India’s sovereign credit rating for the first time in 18 years, Reuters reported.
India’s largest lender by assets said the notes will carry a semi-annual coupon of 4.50% and be issued via its London branch. They will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) at GIFT City. The bonds are rated ‘BBB’ by S&P, in line with SBI’s issuer rating.
Yields on SBI’s existing dollar bonds, viewed as quasi-sovereign because of their close link to the sovereign rating, declined after the upgrade, providing the bank with more favourable fundraising conditions.
According to Maksim Zenkov, deputy head of emerging markets fixed income at Cbonds, state-linked firms and a wider pool of banks and non-bank finance companies are now finding better placement opportunities, Reuters reported.
SBI previously raised $500mn in November 2024 through five-year dollar bonds at a yield of 5.13%, a spread of 82 basis points over US Treasuries of similar maturity—the tightest spread the bank has achieved, according to bankers.
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