London-listed retail banking group Halifax is planning a US dollar-denominated debt issue that will be listed in Asia and Europe.
Halifax operated as a building society before being converted into a commercial bank on June 2 through a public issue of shares. It is one of Britain's four largest banks by market capitalisation and one of the top 10 companies in the FTSE-100 index.
Halifax has made previous international debt issues, and its strong financial strength made it possible to arrive at a low average funding cost of about 150 basis points below London interbank offered rate, the company said.
Halifax is one of 12 banks in the world having the top 'A' financial strength rating from Moody's Investors Service.
Head of debt issuance Michael Baxandall said the forthcoming Euro-Asia dual-listed issue would be at least US$500 million, and Asian investors would be given the chance to buy the issue earlier than others elsewhere.
It is probable the issue would be listed in Hong Kong.
