ICBC will issue the fourth OTC China Development Bank (CDB) bond this year as an agent to retail and non-financial institution customers on July 1, 3 and 6. The on-sale CDB 15th Financial Bond for 2015 is a one-year fixed-rate bond with a coupon rate of 2.64%. Customers can subscribe through ICBC e-banking channels or at ICBC outlets, of which the former enables 24h non-stop trading during the issuance period (excluding Saturdays and Sundays). Prior to that, ICBC had issued as an agent three tranches of OTC CDB financial bonds in February, April and May this year.

According to an official from ICBC, the Bank is currently the only commercial bank on the market that offers 24h non-stop trading of OTC bonds, which means that during the issuance period, customers can subscribe the bond via Internet banking or mobile banking from 4:30 pm to opening time of outlets the next business day, apart from subscription through the above-mentioned channels during business hours. For example, the personal Internet banking customer may log onto Internet banking, enter “Online bond”, click “Subscribe” on the right side of selected bond in “Quotation and Transaction” module before completing the subscription by following the instructions. After the issuance, the OTC CDB bond will be circulated on the market and the customer can purchase and sell the bond at any time through ICBC e-banking channels or at ICBC outlets with real-time settlement of funds.

Industrial insiders pointed out that the OTC CDB bond has high credit rating and security with transaction starting point and minimum increment unit at a face value of RMB 100, representing a low transaction threshold. The bond can effectively meet the public’s investment demand for secure, transparent and moderate-yield bond products. Regular issuance of OTC CDB bonds reflects an increasingly important role of commercial banks’ OTC bond market in bond distribution channels. It is of great significance to expanding the issuer’s financing channels, lowering financing costs and building a multi-layered bond market system.

China Central Depository & Clearing Co. Ltd. is the registrar and custodian of this OTC CDB bond as well as OTC book-entry T-bonds and all innovative types of bonds that have been launched by far. It has been actively supporting undertaking banks and issuers to innovate OTC bond business, providing strong support to sustainable and rapid development of OTC bonds in the future.