Mandated lead arrangers Bayerische Landesbank and Depfa Investment Bank have signed a €32mn term loan facility for Estonian Credit Bank (EKB). It carries a 364-day maturity, and pays a margin of 70 basis points per year.
The facility marks the borrower’s debut in the international syndicated market, and syndication was launched in mid July. It proved a popular transaction, with the original request for €20mn was increased to €32mn following oversubscription. It will be used for general corporate purposes.
Lead arranger tickets were available at €5mn, arranger tickets for €4mn and manager tickets were available for a commitment of €1mn or less.
A total of 11 banks from six countries joined the facility. Both MLAs committed €6mn to the facility. RZB joins as a senior lead arranger committing €7.5mn. WGZ Bank joins as a lead arranger, committing €5mn.
AKA Bank, a specialised export finance bank for the German market, came in at manager level and committed €2.5mn.
A further five banks are committing €1mn at manager level: Banque Bia, DZ Bank, Erste Bank, Latvia’s Hipoteku Bank, and Svenska Handelsbanken.
EKB was established in 1992, and in 2003 Bank of Moscow via its Latvian Business Bank became a strategic investor in the bank. As yet, it is not rated by any rating agencies.
