HSH Nordbank and RZB as mandated lead arrangers have closed a €10mn syndicated term loan facility for International Asset Bank of Bulgaria (IAB) to be on-lent for trade finance purposes.

The transaction, which is the bank’s first syndicated loan, was well received by the international banking market and raised around €12mn in commitments. The borrower elected to take the full oversubscription and increase the final facility amount.

IAB was established as a state-owned institution in 1989. It became a private commercial bank in 1991 under the name First East International Bank and in December 2004 changed its name to International Asset Bank.

One of the oldest banks in Bulgaria, IAB is a small business bank focusing primarily on corporate lending in particular project finance-related financing. IAB has an established branch network with 28 branches and 32 sub-branches and offices in 53 locations throughout Bulgaria.

As at December 31, 2005 IAB’s total assets were Lev273.6mn (€140mn).
IAB has a Moody’s rating of B2/NP (stable outlook) for long and short-term foreign currency bank deposits respectively and E+ (positive outlook) for bank financial strength.

Commitments are: RZB with €3mn, HSH Nordbank with €2mn; Arrangers Hypo Alpe Adria Bank and Mashreqbank with €2mn; Co-arrangers Abanka dd Ljubljana, Banif and LHB Internationale Handelsbank with €1mn. The tenor is 364 days from the signing date, while the margin is 200bp per year.

Repayment is bullet at maturity.