PNB Housing Finance Raises $75 Million

PNB Housing Finance (PNBHFL) has raised $75 million external commercial borrowing (ECB) from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Singapore.

The ECB is under the RBI’s automatic route of approval, and the proceeds will be used by the company as per the applicable guidelines of the central bank.

Sanjaya Gupta, Managing Director, PNBHFL, said this is the second ECB borrowing by the company in the current financial year.

This facility will not only augment PNB Housing’s liquidity but will also further balance the company’s long-term asset-liability mismatch (ALM) position, he said.

Gupta said the landed cost of the fully-hedged facility has been much lower than the present domestic pricing for a similar tenure.

Kapish Jain, Chief Financial Officer, PNHFL, told BusinessLine that the ECB from SMBC is for a tenure of three years, and the rate at which it has been secured is 50 basis points lower than the domestic rate.

The RBI has allowed PNBHFL to borrow ECB up to $750 million annually under the automatic route