The first bond issue after the bank was privatised a year ago featured Tier 2 subordinate notes with a ten-year maturity and an interest rate of 3.65% per annum, callable after five years.

The papers were listed on the Luxembourg stock market on the day of the issue, which was steered by UBS Europe and NLB.

The bank also said in the press release that this was one of rare capital market transactions by a bank in the region.

"The success of the transaction confirms strong trust of investors in the strength of the NLB's business model and our strategy," NLB CFO Archibald Kremser said in the press release.

The bank also said that the investor base was diverse, consisting of high quality international and regional accounts, mostly from Germany, the UK, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia.

Interest was shown above all by international financial institutions, pension funds and international fund managers, the bank said.