Deutsche Bank AG London, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp Europe (SMBCE) and WestLB AG, London have been jointly mandated to arrange a US$100mn syndicated term loan facility for ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria, Moscow. The proceeds will be used for on-lending to various core customers of the borrower for, among others, trade finance purposes. The loan will benefit from a letter of comfort from Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG.
Ahead of syndication, the mandated lead arrangers have approached a few relationship banks of the borrower.
The tenor is two years; the margin 1.35% per year for the first year and 2.35% for year two.
Deutsche Bank and WestLB are joint bookrunners of the facility, whilst SMBCE is facility and documentation agent.
ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria, a member of the RZB Group, is a universal bank with operations equally focused on commercial, retail and investment banking activities. It has operated in Russia since 1996 offering a wide range of services to companies and private clients. Currently, the bank disposes of 11 business locations in Moscow, a regional branch in St Petersburg, a leasing subsidiary, a non-state pension fund, Raiffeisen, and Raiffeisen Capital Asset Management Company.
Raiffeisenbank in Russia closed 2003 with a US$2.02bn balance sheet, an increase of 49% compared to 2002 results (US$1.35bn). The bank’s profit before tax amounted to US$62mn, which illustrates 111% growth from 2002 profit figure.
The bank’s total (corporate and private) loan portfolio increased 51% to the equivalent of US$1.13bn, with private portfolio increasing five-fold from the equivalent of US$26mn to more than US$141mn and corporate part increasing almost 36%.
