This article appeared on Signal, a capital markets service, at 6:23 p.m. on September 2, 2026.
Corporate bonds issued by South Korean brokerages have drawn heavy investor demand in succession. A day earlier, Daishin Securities (003540) (AA-, stable) secured more than 10 times its target, and Hana Securities (AA0, stable) and DB Securities (016610) (A+, stable) pulled in 2.015 trillion won and 660 billion won, respectively. With top-tier corporate bonds from large conglomerates in short supply, brokerage bonds — backed by clear earnings momentum and viewed as stable investments — are absorbing demand that has been waiting on the sidelines.
Hana Securities held a book-building session for institutional investors on the 2nd to raise 300 billion won, according to investment banking sources. Institutions submitted bids totaling 2.015 trillion won. The two-year tranche drew 870 billion won against a 150 billion won target, while the three-year tranche drew 1.145 trillion won against the same target.
The strong demand is expected to push pricing below levels typically seen in the market. Ahead of the book-building, Hana Securities set a target yield band of minus 30 to plus 30 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) over its individual fair-market yield, the company-specific rate assessed by private bond pricing agencies. The two-year and three-year tranches priced 7 bps and 9 bps below the fair-market yield for the same maturities, respectively.
DB Securities, which began its own book-building the same day, also fared well. The 1.5-year tranche drew 340 billion won against a 70 billion won target and the three-year tranche drew 320 billion won against an 80 billion won target, for a combined 660 billion won. Because it is issuing public corporate bonds for the first time in 15 years and has no comparable market yield for reference, DB Securities set its target band at minus 30 to plus 30 bps over the fair-market yield for A+ rated issuers. The 1.5-year and three-year tranches priced 3 bps and 10 bps below the fair-market yield for the same maturities, respectively.
The concentration of money in brokerage bonds reflects sidelined demand for high-grade paper at a time when bond issuance by large conglomerates has become rare. Brokerage bonds issued in July and August this year were bought aggressively by SK hynix. But with the chipmaker's buying weakening as it focuses on share buybacks and cancellations, institutional investors who had been pushed to the back of the line are now snapping up high-grade bonds.
Hana Securities and DB Securities both plan to use the proceeds to repay debt. Hana Securities will put the money toward 300 billion won in commercial paper maturing in stages from the middle of this month, while DB Securities will repay 150 billion won in electronic short-term bonds. Given the size of the demand, both may increase their offerings up to their stated ceilings of 500 billion won and 200 billion won, respectively.
Shinhan Securities, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities and Korea Investment & Securities served as lead managers for the Hana Securities issue. Shinhan Securities and KB Securities acted as joint lead managers for DB Securities.
