More Stories

Informist, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

 

By Vaishali Tyagi

 

MUMBAI – Axis Bank retained its spot as the top corporate bond arranger for the sixth straight month in July. According to data compiled by Informist, the private sector bank arranged bonds worth INR 116.96 billion through 15 deals during the month, including six solely arranged deals for Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Housing Finance, Kotak Mahindra Prime, Poonawalla Fincorp, and two deals of L&T Finance. 

 

SBI Capital Markets climbed to the second spot in July, replacing ICICI Bank. The investment bank facilitated mobilisation of seven deals worth INR 56.77 billion.

 

ICICI Bank slipped to the third place in July, arranging 15 deals worth INR 56.65 billion, down from 20 deals worth INR 88.87 billion it managed in June. Of the deals managed by the private sector bank, it solely arranged seven deals worth INR 41.50 billion for companies including Kotak Mahindra Prime, Bajaj Housing Finance, and Macrotech Developers.

 

HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank, moved up to the fourth place from the fifth in June, arranging funds worth INR 52.86 billion through six deals. The bank arranged nearly 49% more deals in July compared with the previous month. A.K. Capital climbed up one spot to the fifth place, as it arranged 10 deals worth INR 25.55 billion in July, marginally up from INR 22.55 billion in June. 

 

Trust Investment Advisors witnessed a sharp decline in corporate bond arranging activities in July. The firm mobilised INR 16.54 billion through 19 deals, a steep fall from the INR 86.27 billion via 29 deals in June. PNB Gilts and YES Bank mobilised deals worth INR 10.70 billion and INR 8.15 billion, respectively.

 

In July, the market saw cooperation from multiple arrangers to mobilise large-ticket issuances of state-owned entities, such as those from Housing and Urban Development Corp., Power Finance Corp., National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Small Industries Development Bank of India.

 

According to data compiled by Informist, fundraising through corporate bonds declined 31% year on year to INR 691 billion in July through placement of 306 bonds, compared with INR 998 billion through 260 bonds a year ago. Companies had INR 868 billion through 265 bonds in June. Borrowing in July fell nearly 20% on month, as global uncertainties surrounding tariffs and trade policies forced some issuers to reassess fundraising plans. The uncertainty about US tariffs on Indian goods also contributed to the decline.

 

Many companies had rushed to lock in the lower yields in June, after the borrowing rates eased as the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee cut the repo rate by 50 basis points on Jun. 6, along with a staggered 100 bps cut in the Cash Reserve Ratio of banks. The frontloading in June also contributed to the lower issuances in July, market experts said. 

 

Market participants expect a surge in bond issuances in the coming months as the domestic rate trajectory becomes clearer. The corporate bond market is also expected to benefit from the faster rate-cut transmission compared with banks. This could lead to increased activity in the corporate bond space as issuers would want to take advantage of the comparatively lower borrowing rates. 

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.