Romanian state bank CEC taps February 2028 MREL bond to raise EUR 163 mln

Romania’s state-controlled CEC Bank announced it tapped its MREL bond issued on February 24, 2023, and raised a supplementary EUR 163 million versus the EUR 100 million target.

The MREL bonds, issued under a EUR 600 million broader, multi-currency EMTN scheme approved last December by the Commission de Surveillance de Secteur Financiere (CSSF) Luxembourg, are maturing in February 2028 and have a 7.5% coupon attached.

“We are at a very comfortable level in terms of capital requirements, and the reopening of the already existing issue from the beginning of this year also improves the liquidity of the instruments issued by the bank in the secondary market,” said Bogdan Neacșu, Director General of CEC Bank.

With the new operation, CEC Bank topped up the EUR-denominated issue amount under the EMTN to a total of EUR 282 million. Total drawdowns under the EMTN Programme, including the RON-denominated issue, now amount to EUR 414 million. The funds are intended to consolidate CEC Bank’s capital base.

Although listed on the Bucharest Exchange, neither the EUR nor the RON-denominated bonds were traded publicly. The details of the issues launched in February and November, whether they were placed at par or below, were not disclosed.

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