Seylan Rs.5 bn Debenture Issue oversubscribed on opening day

Seylan Bank announced on Tuesday that it has successfully raised Rs. 5 billion via its Debenture issue which was oversubscribed on the opening day, reflecting strong investor confidence.

The issue offered 50 million Basel III compliant, Tier 2, Listed, rated, Unsecured, Subordinated, Redeemable, five-year Debentures with a non-viability conversion at a par value of Rs. 100 each, raising Rs. 5 billion in the initial first tranche of the bank’s intended fund-raising of  a maximum sum of Rs. 12 billion until end of  2023.

“We are pleased to announce that Seylan Bank has recorded an overwhelming response from investors for our debenture issue, which was oversubscribed on the opening day,” said Kapila Ariyaratne, Director/CEO of Seylan Bank, in a media release. “The bank aims to utilise the funds raised to support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) segment and for export-oriented industries through our diverse lending portfolio, and strengthening our regulatory capital requirements,” he added.

The statement said that the success of the Debenture issue also demonstrates Seylan Bank’s resilience in forging ahead, overcoming challenges and delivering robust growth. For the year ended December 2022, the bank reported a Profit before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 6.6 billion, a 10 per cent growth, while recording a Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs. 4.7 billion.

The bank’s overall stable performance was further buoyed by an impressive 72 per cent rise in Net Interest Income (NII) for the year under review. The bank also registered a growth of 11 per cent in total assets reaching Rs. 673 billion and Deposit Base increased by 12 per cent to Rs. 547 billion.

The Debentures were rated BBB (lka) by Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited while the bank’s National Long-Term Rating is set at A- (lka)' on Rating Watch Negative, also by Fitch. Capital Alliance Partners Limited were the Managers to the Issue while SSP Corporate Services (Pvt) Ltd were the Registrars.