Global metals merchant Gerald Group has secured a US$650mn credit facility from a group of banks, with funding set to support the company’s growing North America business activities.

The facility was oversubscribed, having been launched at US$550mn, and will be used to refinance the borrowing base facility of GT Commodities, the group’s North American trading hub.

Three additional banks joined this year’s syndicate. Meanwhile, there was a slight reshuffle in roles, with Rabobank replacing ING as lead lender and administrative agent.

Credit Suisse and HSBC acted as joint lead arrangers, and Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, ING and Wells Fargo as co-syndication agents. Other participants include UBS, Bank of China, Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit and Garanti Bank.

The deal follows the 2019 launch of GT Commodities’ US$300mn borrowing base facility, a syndicated transaction which was led by ING and included many of the same participant banks.

Mital Patel, Gerald’s global head of finance and banking, says the deal was closed within record time and shows the company’s ability to manage risk and extreme volatility within the market.

“The new facility benefits from a reduction in pricing and for the first time introduces a sustainable metals sublimit to support our sustainability and ESG initiatives,” Patel adds in a statement.

A Gerald spokesperson declined to outline the size of the sublimit when asked by GTR, but says financing included within this will support GT Commodities’ low carbon aluminium business.