OREANDA-NEWS. On October 17, 2007 Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) has issued EUR 600 million of supplementary capital (Upper Tier 2), reported the press-centre of RZB.

The transaction constitutes the first public Upper Tier 2 bond in benchmark size issued by an Austrian bank and represents another highly successful issue for RZB. The 8NC5 bond was priced at 5-year mid-swaps +115 basis points. Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley were joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for this transaction. The bond is rated Aa3 by Moody’s and A- by Standard & Poor's whereas the issuer’s senior ratings are Aa2 (Moody’s) and A+ (S&P).

“Placing a complex structure such as Upper Tier 2 in this market without a roadshow is further proof of RZB’s leadership role in Austria”, said Patrick Butler, RZB-Board Member responsible for Treasury and Investment Banking. “RZB is the first Austrian bank to tap the Upper Tier 2 market in benchmark size; investors are enthused by the quality of the borrower and the scarcity of the name in this asset class.”

The transaction was almost twice oversubscribed in less than 30 minutes after books opening with total final investor demand from more than 20 countries amounting to well above one billion euros. After RZB's Tier 1, Lower Tier 2 and latest senior transaction this Upper Tier 2 bond will be the fourth of RZB to be included in the iboxx index series of Deutsche Boerse – which only the leading banks worldwide achieve.

Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group. It is a leading corporate and investment bank in Austria and also considers Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. RZB is the only Austrian bank with a global network of business units reaching all important finance centres around the globe. It is also present in Asia via its branches and representative offices.

Via listed subsidiary Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, RZB operates one of the largest banking networks in CEE. 18 markets are covered by subsidiary banks, finance leasing companies, two representative offices and a number of financial services providers. Approximately 13 million customers are attended to through more than 3,000 business outlets.