The Russian Bank for Foreign Trade, Vneshtorgbank (VTB), has chosen a club of 12 banks to arrange a US$175mn one-year term loan. The banks are: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, HSH Nordbank, HVB, ING Bank, Natexis Banques Populaires, Standard Bank, UFJ and WestLB.

VTB borrowed US$240mn in November. Deutsche Bank and Citigroup were the mandated lead arrangers for this. The loan had a one-year US$128mn tranche (250bp) and a 1.5 year US$112mn tranche (265bp).