Woori Bank Directly Issues Foreign Currency Bonds at Four Overseas Branches

Woori Bank has raised a total of USD 275 million in long-term funds by directly issuing foreign currency bonds through its four overseas branches in London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles (LA), and Singapore. This marks a departure from the previous structure, where foreign currency bonds were issued only by the headquarters, and establishes a foundation for overseas branches to independently secure medium- to long-term funds in their respective local markets.

Woori Bank announced on July 8 that its London, Hong Kong, LA, and Singapore branches have issued foreign currency bonds locally, raising a combined total of USD 275 million. Until now, the bank's foreign currency bond issuance was handled exclusively by the headquarters. This is the first time the overseas branches have issued bonds directly, signifying that each branch has established a system to independently secure funding in the local bond markets.

Previously, overseas branches relied primarily on short-term funding with maturities of around one year. Through this bond issuance, Woori Bank has secured long-term funds with maturities ranging from two to five years, thereby strengthening its foundation for business expansion and profitability improvement in local markets. The issuance utilized the Medium Term Note (MTN) program. An MTN is a method of raising medium- to long-term funds in global capital markets by pre-registering a bond issuance limit and issuing foreign currency bonds as needed within that limit.

In January of this year, Woori Bank’s headquarters revised its MTN program to add the four branches—London, Hong Kong, LA, and Singapore—as authorized issuing locations. In February, the bank conducted practical training for branch staff in preparation for local issuances. As a result, starting with the Hong Kong branch’s first issuance of USD 50 million in April, all four branches completed bond issuances by early July.

The Hong Kong branch issued a total of USD 180 million through four issuances from April to May. The LA branch raised USD 20 million on June 25, the London branch secured USD 45 million on July 1, and the Singapore branch raised USD 30 million on July 8. Woori Bank plans to use this issuance as an opportunity to further enhance the funding capabilities of its overseas branches. In the second half of this year, the bank will introduce a new evaluation item for overseas branches—providing additional points for activating the MTN program—to encourage continued bond issuances.

At the end of the year, the bank plans to increase the total issuance limit of the MTN program from the current USD 7 billion to USD 10 billion, allocating USD 1 billion of this as the issuance limit for overseas branches. Hong Jinbang, Deputy General Manager of Woori Bank’s Treasury Department, stated, “The independent foreign currency bond issuance by overseas branches is significant as it establishes a new framework for stably securing long-term funds needed for global local operations. We will further strengthen our overseas business foundation by enhancing our global funding competitiveness.”

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