ICBC issued the first OTC bonds of China Development Bank (“CDB”) of this year on January 18-22 (except non-business days) to individual and non-financial institutional customers. The CDB Financial Bonds issued are one-year fixed-rate bonds with a code of 170203 and a coupon rate of 3.20%. Customers can subscribe via ICBC’s 24-hour e-banking channels and outlets.

According to an official with ICBC , during the issuance period customers can easily subscribe the bonds via personal Internet banking, mobile banking or via the outlets by opening a capital account for bond trading and a bond custody account. For example, after logging into the online banking terminal, individual customers can enter the “Wealth Management & Bonds” column, select “Counter-based Book-entry Bonds” and click the “Buy” button on the right of the bonds to be subscribed and complete subscription following instructions. The OTC CDB bonds became negotiable on January 25, before customers can buy or sell them at any time during business hours via e-banking channels or outlets. The funds are settled on a real-time basis.

OTC CDB bonds feature high credit rating and security level, with the trading threshold and the minimum incremental unit both being RMB 100 (face value). In addition, the bonds have a low threshold and generate a stable income from interests on maturity. Customers may receive proceeds from the difference between buying and selling prices of the bonds using price fluctuations in the market. The bonds can meet the investment needs for safe and transparent bond products with moderate returns. ICBC has regularly issued 17 OTC CDB Bonds since they were first issued via outlets of commercial banks in May 2014. The regular issuance of OTC CDB bonds reflects the increasingly important role of commercial banks in distribution in the OTC bond market, which has strong implications in widening financing channels for issuers and building a multi-tiered bond market system.