Bank of America’s $1 Billion Virus Bond Breaks New Ground for U.S. Banks
- Deal is first from a U.S. financial entirely for Covid relief
- Banks are seen contributing to social bond issuance boom
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Bank of America Corp. priced a $1 billion bond issue to fund Covid-19 relief efforts. It’s the first sale from a U.S. financial institution that explicitly links all proceeds to tackling the virus, Bloomberg data show.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender sold fixed-to-floating rate notes to fund investments addressing social issues related to the pandemic, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The bonds will yield 1.30 percentage points above Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. Bank of America is sole manager of the bond sale.