ICICI Lombard became India’s first private insurer to raise ₹ 485 crores through private placement of redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
This was after the new investment regulation by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which allows insurance companies to raise funds by issuing non-convertible debenture bonds through private placement.
In its first issuance, ICICI Lombard made a private placement of 4,850 unsecured, fully paid, redeemable NCDs at a face value of ₹ 10 lakhs each. This is at an interest rate of 8.25% and maturity period of 10 years. The arranger for this issuance was ICICI Securities Primary Dealership.
At the end of March 2016, ICICI Lombard had a net worth of ₹ 3,176 crores and a solvency margin of 1.82. The debenture issuance will help to strengthen the capital base of the company. The Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Lombard, Mr. Bhargav Dasgupta said, "We are excited to be the first insurance company to have augmented our capital base by issuing subordinated debt, post the recent measures announced by IRDAI allowing alternative forms of capital. The successful closure of the issue is a testimony to shareholder confidence in the franchise."