Another vote of confidence from international: Bank Leumi Completes Overseas CoCo Bond Issuance totaling USD 1 Billion - in the lowest spread in the history of an Israeli bank issuance
PR Newswire
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 3, 2026
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) announced today that it has successfully completed an international issuance of CoCo bonds from a range of institutional investors abroad and in Israel, in an amount totaling USD 1 billion. During the offering, exceptionally strong demand was recorded, totaling approximately USD 2.5 billion.
A CoCo bond issuance, through the issuance of subordinated capital notes (Subordinated Debt), is a financial instrument that combines characteristics of both debt and equity, and is considered subordinated debt that strengthens the Bank's capital base. As part of the current transaction, a bond series was issued for a term of 10.25 years, with a call option after 5 years, at an interest rate of 5.7% and a spread of 155 basis points. This is the lowest spread in the history of an Israeli bank issuance of CoCo bonds overseas, reflecting significant confidence in Bank Leumi and in the Israeli economy.
The transaction, led by Omer Ziv, Deputy CEO and Head of the Bank's Capital Markets Division, was carried out against the backdrop of the Bank's continuing growth trend, with the aim of diversifying its funding sources and strengthening its capital. The issuance was led by some of the world's leading investment banks: Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and others. The series is expected to be listed on the institutional trading system of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
In January 2026, Leumi was the first financial institution in Israel to raise a mortgage-backed covered bond from foreign investors — an innovative debt instrument with financing costs significantly lower than those of a regular corporate bond. The issuance amounted to approximately EUR 750 million, received ratings that were 2 to 4 notches higher than the rating assigned to bonds issued by the State of Israel in a previous issuance, and at an interest rate approximately 20 basis points lower.
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