Record Rs. 30 b BOC debenture issue oversubscribed

Wednesday, 4 November 2026 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Applications exceed Rs. 30 b, three times the initial Rs. 10 b issue

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) yesterday said its debenture issue of up to Rs. 30 billion, the largest in Sri Lanka, had been oversubscribed, with applications exceeding

Rs. 30 billion.

The State-owned bank initially offered up to 100 million debentures at an issue price of Rs. 100 each to raise up to Rs. 10 billion.

It had the option to issue a further 100 million debentures to raise up to another Rs. 10 billion in the event of an oversubscription of the initial issue, and a further 100 million to raise up to a further Rs. 10 billion if both the initial issue and the second tranche were oversubscribed.

Accordingly, the issue was closed at 4.30 p.m. yesterday, as per the prospectus, the bank said. The basis of allotment will be notified to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in due course.

The issue comprises Basel III-compliant Tier 2 listed, rated, unsecured, subordinated, redeemable debentures with five-year (2026/2031) and seven-year (2026/2033) tenures. Tier 2 capital is a supplementary layer of capital that counts towards a bank’s regulatory capital requirements. The debentures carry a non-viability write-down feature, which means they can be written down if the bank is deemed no longer viable, a standard requirement for such capital under Basel III rules.

The issue surpasses Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s Rs. 20 billion debenture issue in July 2024, which was billed at the time as the largest ever by a private bank.