FirstRand: Dollar bond sale has been cancelled

FIRSTRAND, South Africa’s largest lender by market value, cancelled a sale of dollar bonds because market conditions were unfavourable. “During the day, the market conditions were not favourable to issue in terms of volume and price,” Sam Moss, a director of the Johannesburg-based bank, said on Friday, without giving more detail. FirstRand was in the market on Thursday trying to sell senior unsecured five-year dollar-denominated bonds rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, according to a person with knowledge of the offering, who asked not to be identified. FirstRand delayed the sale of dollar bonds planned to bolster its Tier 2 capital two years ago after it failed to find buyers. “We have a multi-currency balance sheet requirement and need US dollars to fund that requirement,” Moss said. The capital adequacy ratio of FirstRand’s banking unit was 16.4 percent at the end of September, well above minimum regulatory requirements, the group said last Wednesday. The share price gained 4.21 percent to close at R49.81 on Friday. – Bloomberg