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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

 

By Vaishali Tyagi

 

MUMBAI – Axis Bank retained its position as the top arranger of corporate bonds for the second consecutive month in March. According to data compiled by Informist, the bank facilitated raising INR 169.7 billion through 25 deals in March, including nine deals which the bank solely arranged, to claim the top spot. Axis Bank was the top corporate bond arranger in February, helping raise INR 118.19 billion through 27 deals.

 

AK Capital Services climbed to the second spot, leaving behind marquee names like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. The merchant banker arranged 22 deals worth INR 103.20 billion, with a standout deal of INR 70 billion for LIC Housing Finance.

 

ICICI Bank remained in the third place, arranging INR 96.41 billion through 33 deals in March. The private sector bank, which arranged the maximum number of deals in March, solely arranged six deals worth INR 32.95 billion.

 

HDFC Bank, the country's largest private sector bank, slipped to fourth position from second last month, arranging 20 deals worth INR 81.20 billion, of which it solely arranged 11 deals, the most number of solely arranged deals during the month.

 

SBI Capital Markets lost one position to become the fifth top arranger in March. The arranger facilitated 14 deals totalling INR 60.95 billion. Of this, it was the sole arranger for three deals worth INR 10.25 billion.

 

YES Bank slipped one spot to sixth place in February. The bank helped arrange 17 deals worth INR 31.95 billion. Trust Investment Advisors also fell one spot to seventh spot. The firm managed 24 deals and helped raise INR 21.66 billion.

 

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., REC, and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.

 

The month of March saw a surge in corporate bond fundraising, as issuers tapped the market to meet their financial year-end targets. Corporate bond fundraising in March jumped 34% from a month ago, with INR 1.29 trillion raised through 291 bond issues. This was the highest monthly fundraising in the financial year. However, it was 8% lower than the INR 1.40 trillion raised through 380 bonds in March of the previous year.

 

Market participants attributed the surge in bond issuances in March to the requirement to meet their borrowing targets, coupled with the Reserve Bank of India's 25-basis-point repo rate cut in February.

 

Despite the surge in fundraising, non-banking finance companies raised only INR 120.78 billion in March, down from INR 149.33 billion in February. Housing finance companies also saw a decline in fundraising, to INR 111.75 billion from INR 116.13 billion in the previous month.

 

Many non-frequent issuers such as Mikado Realtors, Ramco Industries, and Varthana Finance tapped the market to raise funds. Abhishek Properties offered the highest monthly coupon of 16.00% in March for its bond maturing in 2027 which was arranged by Trust Investment Advisors.

 

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

 

ARRANGERS	ISSUES ARRANGED (SOLELY OR JOINTLY)	AMOUNT ARRANGED (INR BILLION)
Axis Bank	25	169.7
AK Capital Services	22	103.2
ICICI Bank	33	91.41
HDFC Bank	20	81.2
SBI Capital Markets	14	60.95
YES Bank	17	31.95
Trust Investment Advisors	24	21.66
ICICI Securities Primary Dealership	18	20.75
PNB Gilts	18	18.45
Tipsons Financial Services	18	8.25
LKP Securities	5	0.95

 

End

 

With inputs from Ashna Mariam George and Sachi Pandey

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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