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Israel’s Bank Leumi raises 3.2 billion shekels in bonds

Pedestrians are reflected in the windows of a branch of Bank Leumi, Israel's second-largest lender, in Tel Aviv, Israel May 30, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias

JERUSALEM, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Israel’s Bank Leumi (LUMI.TA) said on Wednesday it raised 3.2 billion shekels ($1 billion) from institutions in a tender to expand two series of CPI-linked senior bonds for periods of 3.5 and 6 years.

The first phase of the tender attracted subscriptions of about 3.9 billion shekels from institutional investors. The public phase will take place on Thursday, the bank said.

The 3.5 year series closed at a yield of 1.54%, Leumi said, reflecting a 0.69% spread, and was rated AAA by credit ratings agencies Maalot, the Israeli unit of Standard & Poor’s, and Midroog, an Israeli affiliate of Moody’s.

The 6-year series closed at a 1.04% yield, reflecting a 0.79% spread, and was rated AAA by Maalot.

Last November, the Bank raised 2.3 billion shekels in two new bond series.

($1 = 3.1130 shekels)Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely

This article was originally published by Reuters.

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