VakıfBank has successfully completed a $500 million additional Tier 1 bond issuance targeted at international institutional investors.
According to a statement from the bank, the issuance is perpetual in nature with a call option after 5 years and 3 months.
VakıfBank CEO Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih said the transaction follows several international funding deals carried out since the beginning of the year. He noted that investor demand was nearly three times the issue size, with participation from around 80 investors across the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States.
Thanks to this strong demand, the yield was tightened by 42.5 basis points from initial price guidance, settling at 8.20%. This marks the lowest yield achieved so far for an additional Tier 1 issuance in the Turkish banking sector, Üstünsalih emphasized.
He added that the issuance will provide a positive contribution of 80 basis points to the bank’s capital adequacy ratios. VakıfBank plans to continue leveraging its strong position in international capital markets to diversify funding sources while supporting exporters, investors, and SMEs in line with its selective lending policy.
Üstünsalih also highlighted the bank’s funding strategy throughout 2025, recalling recent deals including:
- A $700 million DPR securitization with the longest tenor and largest size in the bank’s history (February),
- A RMB 4 billion, three-year loan from China Development Bank (May),
- A $750 million five-year sustainable eurobond in July, raising the bank’s total sustainable eurobond portfolio to $3.3 billion, the largest in the Turkish banking sector,
- And the bank’s first $500 million five-year murabaha transaction in September.
“With this successful AT1 issuance, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet in line with our effective balance sheet management strategy,” Üstünsalih said.
Source: Anadolu Ajansı/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök