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Informist, Friday, Mar. 28, 2025

 

By Ashna Mariam George and Sachi Pandey

 

MUMBAI – Axis Bank reclaimed the top position among corporate bond arrangers in February after a gap of four months, according to data compiled by Informist. The country's third largest private bank facilitated the raising of INR 118.19 billion through 27 deals, including seven it handled solely for ICICI Home Finance, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Prime, LIC Housing Finance, Quadron Business Parks, and Cube Highways Trust. In January, Axis Bank was the sixth-largest arranger of corporate bonds.

 

Meanwhile, HDFC Bank was a distant second in February after it arranged seven deals worth INR 72.70 billion. It was the sole arranger for a deal worth INR 3.90 billion for Kotak Mahindra Prime. The country's largest private bank was third in the list of top corporate bond arrangers in January.

 

ICICI Bank fell to the third spot in February from top of list in January after it helped mobilise INR 58.57 billion through 27 deals, including four worth INR 21.50 billion where it was the sole arranger for Aditya Birla Housing Finance, HDB Financial Services, and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. SBI Capital Markets climbed up to the fourth position from fifth in January. The arranger facilitated 15 deals totalling INR 29.15 billion. Of this, it was the sole arranger for a deal worth INR 5.00 billion for Axis Max Life Insurance. 

 

YES Bank jumped to fifth place in Februrary, up from ninth position in January. The bank helped arrange 18 deals worth INR 26.34 billion. ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, which had surprised by jumping to the second place in January, fell to the sixth in February. The firm managed 20 deals and helped raise INR 25.87 billion. Both YES Bank and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership were not the sole arranger for any deal last month.

 

Most arrangers jointly participated in big-ticket issuances for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Small Industries Development Bank of India, Housing and Urban Development Corp., Indian Railway Finance Corp., and Punjab National Bank. 

 

Overall fundraising in February rose by 22% from January to INR 963.98 billion through 214 bond issuances, according to data from the National Securities Depository and compiled by Informist. The lion's share of this came from public sector companies, who raised INR 488.00 billion, sharply up from INR 267.88 billion in January. NABARD was the largest issuer, mopping up INR 134.60 billion through three bond offerings, with Power Finance Corporation close on its heels at INR 112.85 billion from five bond issuances. February also saw three infrastructure bond issues by banks worth a total of INR 72.52 billion. Punjab National Bank raised INR 29.50 billion through a 10-year infrastructure bond at 7.34%, while Bank of India raised INR 26.90 billion. Bank of Maharashtra raised INR 16.12 billion at a coupon of 7.70%.

 

In comparison, non-banking finance companies were hardly active, raising just INR 149.33 billion in February, higher than INR 112.94 billion in January. Housing finance companies, on other hand, secured INR 116.13 billion, up from INR 92.50 billion.

 

Vedanta Ltd., typically an infrequent issuer, raised INR 75.00 billion through two bonds, while Sangvi Lifespace offered the highest monthly coupon of 18.00% in February for its bond maturing in 2030.

 

Following is a list of corporate bond arrangers in order of the quantum arranged in February:

 

ARRANGERS	ISSUES ARRANGED (SOLELY OR JOINTLY)	AMOUNT ARRANGED (INR BILLION)
Axis Bank	27	118.19
HDFC Bank	7	72.7
ICICI Bank	27	58.57
SBI Capital Markets	15	29.15
YES Bank	18	26.34
ICICI Securities Primary Dealership	20	25.87
AK Capital Services	24	24.1
PNB Gilts	18	23.35
Trust Investment Advisors	31	21.73
Tipsons Financial Services	17	10.1
LKP Securities	1	0.05

 

End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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