OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2012. NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INTO OR IN THE UNITED STATES, RUSSIA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, OR THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS.
Alfa-Bank announces the pricing of a USD 750 million Subordinated Lower Tier 2 Notes issue due 2019 and bearing a fixed interest rate of 7.50 % per annum (the "Notes"). Closing of the transaction is expected shortly subject to signing of transaction documentation, reported the press-centre of Alfa-Bank.

The Notes will be issued by Alfa Bond Issuance plc (the "Issuer"), an Irish special purpose vehicle, at 100% of their face value. The proceeds of the Notes will be on-lent to Alfa-Bank.

The proceeds will contribute to an increase in Alfa-Bank’s capital ratios and the issue will further diversify its funding sources. The proceeds will be used by Alfa-Bank for general corporate purposes.

Andrew Baxter, Deputy Head of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, said, "We consider this subordinated notes issue to be another important step in the development of Alfa-Bank. Once again, we saw significant interest in our bonds, as the book was largely oversubscribed. The sound and consistent financial results as well as the clear development strategy of Alfa-Bank together with the recent upgrade to an investment grade credit rating by Fitch Ratings and Alfa Bank’s position among the leaders in the Russian banking sector enabled us to price the Notes very close to those of Russian state-owned banks."

The Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners are Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank and Alfa-Bank. The Notes are expected to be rated Ba2 by Moody’s, B+ by Standard & Poor’s and BB+ by Fitch.