Alfa-Bank secures first syndication since crisis

Alfa-Bank secures first syndication since crisis

Russia’s Alfa-Bank has closed a one-year US$250mn syndicated loan with four international banks.

The loan, which will be used for corporate lending purposes, was upsized from US$160mn.

The mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal include Citibank, HSBC, Wells Fargo and WestLB.

The loan is priced at 175 basis points over Libor – this year’s lowest interest rate among Russian private banks for a deal of this kind, Alfa-Bank says.

Alfa-Bank’s deputy chief financial officer Andrew Baxter says: "Although Alfa-Bank has successfully executed a number of Eurobond issues over the past two years, this is the first syndicated loan that we have issued since the 2008 crisis. This syndicated loan is a resounding success in terms of funding costs, and demonstrates the international capital markets’ perception of Alfa-Bank as the leading private bank in Russia.”