Sekerbank mandates for trade deal

Sekerbank in Turkey has mandated Commerzbank, Emirates NBD, RZB and Wachovia Bank to arrange a US$100mn-equivalent dual-currency syndicated term loan facility.

Emirates NBD and Wachovia were appointed co-ordinating banks and general syndication has now been launched.

The facility is being raised for pre-export and trade finance purposes, and it carries a tenor of 364 days with repayment due in bullet form. The margin on the deal is 80 basis points.

Sekerbank was set up in 1953 as the Sugar Beet Cooperative Bank in Eskisehir in Turkey, setting up its activities through pooling the savings of sugar beet growers. It became a full service commercial bank in the 1970s, and by the 1980s the bank was prioritising its foreign trade and corporate banking business. As of 2004, the bank became headquartered in Istanbul.