Hero FinCorp first Indian company to secure new benchmark loan

​Hero FinCorp has become the first Indian company to raise a secured overnight financing rate (SOFR)-linked syndicated loan, said people aware of the matter. The non-bank finance company, promoted by Hero MotoCorp, raised $350 million (about Rs 2,631 crore) at 168 basis points above SOFR, a new international benchmark that has come into existence to replace the London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR from January 1. As Per ET The SOFR rate was 0.05% on Thursday. Axis Bank and HSBC are underwriters to the loan, said the people cited earlier.

Though Indian companies have raised overseas loans linked to SOFR since the beginning of the year, Hero FinCorp is the first to raise a syndicated loan marked to the new rate. Loans of this nature could become more popular among a wide range of borrowers, according to market participants.