SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Bank of China , the country's biggest foreign lender, will issue 24.9 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in subordinated bonds in the first quarter, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.
The 15-year bonds will have a 10-year call option, meaning Bank of China could redeem them at that time, the sources told Reuters last Wednesday.
Bank of China will issue the subordinated bonds to replace maturing debt, also subordinated bonds, redeemable in March this year, the paper reported quoting the bank.
Bank of China announced last month it planned to issue new equity equivalent to as much as 20 percent of its existing shares and issue up to 40 billion yuan ($5.86 billion) worth of convertible bonds to shore up its capital base.
The bank also said last week it had cut a discount on mortgage rates offered to home buyers, in an effort to optimise its lending structure, in one of the first signs of how the government's lending clampdown is rippling through the economy.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Ken Wills)
($1=6.826 Yuan)
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