Mumbai, Jan 18 (Reporter) State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, raised Rs 5,000 crore on Thursday through its second Basel III compliant Additional Tier 1 bond issuance for the current financial year at a coupon rate of 8.34 per cent. The tenor of this bonds is perpetual with a call option after 10 years and every anniversary thereafter, according to a statement. The issue attracted overwhelming response from a wide range of investors with 108 bids of Rs. 5,294 crores and was oversubscribed by about 2.65 times against the base issue size of Rs 2,000 crores. The investors were across mutual funds, provident & pension funds, banks, insurance companies, etc. Dinesh Khara, Chairman SBI, stated, “The tight pricing and the diverse investor base for an instrument which has its own challenges shows the trust investors place in the Bank.” Based on the response, the Bank has decided to accept bids of Rs. 5,000 crores at a coupon rate of 8.34% payable annually. The Bonds were rated AA+ with stable outlook by CRISIL and ICRA. The issuance is significant as the Bank has been able to diversify and raise long-term non-equity regulatory capital...////...