The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a US$1.2bn syndicated term loan with 22 banks.

The three-year facility will be used for general corporate purposes, refinancing existing facilities and for payment of facility costs, the pan-African lender says.

“This successful transaction, launched against the backdrop of the volatility that resulted from the announcement of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, is a testament to the strength of Afreximbank’s investor relationships and the high regard and confidence that the market has for the bank’s financial strength and its importance to the continent,” Afreximbank says.

The facility was initially launched at US$600mn and was 2.3 times oversubscribed, which allowed Afreximbank to “upsize the amount… while also scaling back the banks on the deal”, it says. The deal was announced on December 29.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are the joint global co-ordinators, mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and bookrunners for the loan. Standard Chartered also acts as the documentation and facility agent.

The other MLAs and bookrunners on the facility are: Absa Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, Bank Muscat, Citibank, Commerzbank, Credit Europe Bank, Emirates NBD, Gulf Bank, HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, KDB Bank Europe, Mashreqbank, Mizuho, MUFG, SMBC Bank International, State Bank of India, the Korea Development Bank and Standard Bank.

In May 2020 the bank signed a dual-currency syndicated loan worth US$907.5mn, which had a tenor of up to 15 months. Standard Chartered was also one of three global co-ordinators and MLAs on that facility.