Earlier in July, Andhra Bank's R1,000-crore issue was rated AA+ by ratings agency Crisil, making it the first long-term infrastructure bond to the rated. Kotak Mahindra Bank 's R300-crore issue was rated AAA by Crisil earlier in August. The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) on July 15 issued guidelines for the issuances of long-term bonds (with a minimum maturity of seven years) for financing infrastructure projects and for affordable housing by scheduled commercial banks. These bonds would be exempt from cash, statutory reserve and priority sector lending requirements. Lakshmi Iyer, chief investment officer for debt at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, said infrastructure bonds have generally been getting demand from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and insurance companies. ? But there isn't too much demand from mututal funds as the maturity periods are too long,? she added.