State-owned Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) raised $7.4 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering in two years, but the deal priced at the lower end of expectations and was heavily reliant on cornerstone investors.

Seeking to bolster its balance sheet and fund lending, the bank initially sought as much as $8.1 billion in the Hong Kong listing, counting on its network of more than 40,000 branches and low level of non-performing loans to attract investors.

PSBC priced 12.1 billion new shares at HK$4.76 each, after marketing the offering between HK$4.68 and HK$5.18 per share, people with direct knowledge of the deal .

A group of six cornerstone investors agreed to purchase $5.7 billion or 77 percent of the shares on offer, offsetting tepid demand from global fund managers and local retail investors.

The cornerstone tranche came in slightly below the record set by China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co Ltd (1606.HK) in its $810 million listing in July.

In the world’s biggest IPO since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (BABA.N) $25 billion listing in 2014, some 26 banks stand to jointly earn up to $118.4 million in fees, according to PSBC’s prospectus. That is equivalent to a 1.1 percent underwriting commission and a 0.5 percent incentive fee.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, China International Capital Corp (CICC), Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were hired as sponsors of the IPO and will earn $100,000 each in sponsor fees.