Hana Bank sells 8 bln baht of Thai bonds

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- Hana Bank, South Korea's No. 4 lender, said it has raised 8 billion baht (US$256.7 million) by selling bonds in Thailand in an effort to diversify its foreign currency funding sources.
Hana Bank said the three-year bonds carry an interest rate of 4.68 percent or pricing at 2.63 percent above the LIBOR, marking its first Thai bond sale.
The bond issuance came even as the global financial markets underwent gyrations, hit by a sputtering U.S. economy and the eurozone debt crisis, Hana Bank said.
Local banks are trying to secure foreign exchange liquidity on fears that a potential prolongation of market turmoil could spark a liquidity squeeze.
Earlier in the day, Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, called on local banks to bolster foreign exchange liquidity as there is a chance that market jitters may persist for a considerable period of time.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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