Russian bank gets $280m term loan

Dubai: Emirates NBD, Commerzbank, ICICI Bank, ING Bank and Raiffeisen Zentral Osterreich (RZB) completed the syndication of a $280 million term loan facility for Promsvyazbank, a commercial bank in Russia.

The facility has a tenor of 12 months and carries a margin of 120 basis points per annum and the proceeds under the facility will be used by the Russian bank to finance trade-related contracts of its customers, according to a statement released by Emirates NBD yesterday.

The facility, which was launched at $175 million, was increased to $280 million following 60 per cent oversubscription with the participation of 31 banks across the globe. Germany-based Commerzbank acquired a 15.3 per cent stake in Promsvyazbank,in November 2006 through a subscription in capital increase.

Thirty per cent of loan was raised from the Middle East, 12-1/2 per cent from Asia and the rest from, Europe and the United States, according to Mohammad Kamran Wajid, global head,financial institutions, Emirates NBD.

"In the aftermath of the global credit crisis which is still continuing, and when liquidity is still tight and the pricing continues to go up, this was another demonstration by Emirates NBD to be aggressive in the syndicated corporate loans segment," Wajid added. "The major challenge for us is to choose the right kind of credit and the right kind of borrower to sell in the market."

With a total value of $28 billion, Emirates NBD, currently the Gulf's largest bank by assets, continues to lead the table for syndicated loans for corporate and financial institutions in the UAE.