Commercial Bank announces successful completion of USD 1 billion syndicated term loan facility

Doha, Qatar: Commercial Bank, one of the leading full service banks headquartered in Qatar, announced the successful completion of a USD 1,000 million (USD 1 billion) senior unsecured term loan facility (the “Facility”). The lender group consists of 21 major banks from the GCC, US, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Facility comprises of two tranches, a USD 600 million two-year term loan and a USD 400 million three-year term loan, paying margins of 100bps and 120bps over LIBOR, respectively.

 

The Facility originally targeted to raise USD 600 million, but following strong demand in syndication from banks around the world, the final size was increased to USD 1,000 million. The Facility is Commercial Bank’s largest syndicated loan and the proceeds will be used for refinancing and to fund business growth.

 

National Bank of Abu Dhabi and HSBC Bank Middle East acted as the coordinating banks and Bookrunners for the Facility. Other Arrangers and Bookrunners were Arab Banking Corporation (also the Agent bank), Barclays Bank PLC, Commerzbank AG, and Wells Fargo National Association.  A special closing ceremony luncheon was hosted by Commercial Bank on 20 February at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha and was very well attended by the banks involved in the Facility, VIP guests and Commercial Bank senior management.

 

Commenting on the Facility, Commercial Bank CEO Mr Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi said: “This Facility is an outstanding success by several criteria: size, pricing, a geographically diverse lender group comprised of leading banks, and oversubscription of the facility by more than 110%. The strong market demand and terms of this Facility demonstrate the confidence global markets have in the financial strength of Commercial Bank, and the stability of the Qatari banking sector.”

 

Mr. Fahad Badar, Head of Wholesale Banking at Commercial Bank, also thanked the Arrangers and the lenders for their confidence and support leading to the success of this syndication. He noted that Commercial Bank has secured financing at very good terms, and also diversified its lender group further, and that this transaction has been very smooth from the start, thanks to the efforts and support of the core Arranger group.