IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced the sale of a capital-boosting Islamic bond, raising 1 billion riyals ($267 million) through a sukuk which will enhance its core capital. The kingdom's largest bank said on Monday the privately-placed sukuk, which would boost its Tier 1 capital, was Basel III-compliant and had a perpetual tenor, although the bank would have the right to call the sukuk on a predefined date. However, it did not disclose the call date in the bourse filing announcing the transaction. JP Morgan and NCB Capital, the investment banking arm of NCB, were the deal's arrangers. NCB joins a string of Saudi Arabian banks that have sought to replenish their capital reserves in the last couple of years, by issuing capital-boosting bonds and bonus shares.