SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Banco Santander Chile's (NYSE: BSAC) announced its return to the Swiss market with the largest placement by a Chilean issuer since 2014.
Santander Chile returns to the international market with the successful issuance of a bond in Swiss francs for CHF 225 million (equivalent to US$ 263 million) with a term of three years, achieving a spread of 125 basis points over the reference rate, equivalent to a coupon of 2.445%. The results of this transaction reflect the great interest and demand from investors, making it the third largest placement of a Chilean issuer in this market. The previous two also belong to Banco Santander, for CHF 250 million in 2010 and for CHF 300 million in 2014.
This new operation consolidates the excellent reception of Santander-Chile in international markets, considering that the entity had not issued new bonds in this market since 2021. Thanks to this recent instrument, the Bank's position in the Swiss Franc market is around CHF 900 million (close to US$ 1,000 million), consolidating itself as the second most relevant market within the entity's financing diversification strategy, thus reaching around 25% of the total foreign debt.
For Emiliano Muratore, Chief Financial Officer of Santander, "this issue is part of our objective of maintaining the diversification of our funding sources. Having the trust of foreign investors is absolutely key for us to achieve our goals and, thereby, advance in the Bank's strategic plan."
About Banco Santander
Banco Santander Chile is the largest bank in the Chilean market. As of September 30, 2023, it has total assets of $72,491 billion, total gross loans at amortized cost of $40,139 billion, deposits of $28,555 billion and total equity of $4,193 billion. The BIS capital ratio is 17.1%, with a core capital ratio of 10.7%. Employs 9,077 people and has 254 branches throughout Chile. Banco Santander Chile is one of the companies with the highest risk classifications in Latin America with an A2 rating from Moody's, A- from Standard and Poor's, A+ from Japan Credit Rating Agency, AA- from HR Ratings and A from KBRA, all have a Stable Outlook.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cristian Vicuña
Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Investor Relations
Banco Santander Chile
Bandera 140, Floor 20
Santiago, Chile
Email: irelations@santander.cl
Website: www.santander.cl
