Durrant Pate/Contributor

NCB Financial Group (NCBFG) has successfully raised the US$225 million it sought on the international capital market last week.

The successful issuance of the five-year Senior Secured Notes was completed on Thursday, July 31, with the securities carrying a coupon rate of 11% and will mature on July 31, 2030. This landmark transaction was priced on July 24, 2025.

The proceeds of the Notes will be used to support NCBFG’s objectives, including liability management, balance sheet optimisation and enhancement of overall financial resilience. The Notes were rated by Fitch Ratings and achieved a final long-term rating of “B+” and were also rated by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services with a final rating of “B-“.

The Notes are to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Our Today reported just over a week ago that NCBFG pledged all of the shares of its majority-owned subsidiary, Guardian Holdings (GHL), as collateral for its delayed US$225 bond offer, which was initially planned to have hit the market in June.

The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reported that the move, which is unprecedented in Caribbean corporate history, exposes GHL to additional risks if NCBFG does not meet its debt obligations. NCBFG has over US$250 million in debt obligations maturing this year. 

NCBFG owns 61.77 per cent of GHL’s ordinary shares, representing 143.3 million shares. In order to pay off the maturing debt, NCBFG last week launched the senior unsecured bond offer.