Moscow, Russia, July 15, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have jointly raised $164 million for Transcapitalbank, a midsize Russian bank and leader in trade finance in Russia, to help the bank diversify its funding base.
The financing consists of $60 million in loans for the accounts of IFC and EBRD and $104 million in syndicated loans from a consortium of 12 commercial banks. The success of the syndication confirms the return of international appetite for the debt of strong private Russian banks despite continuing market turbulence.
“This successful syndication, supported by EBRD and IFC, is the first for Transcapitalbank since the start of the financial crisis and will allow us to provide competitive finance to our clientele, particularly small and midsize businesses,” said Olga Gryadovaya, Chairman of the Management Board of Transcapitalbank. “Transcapitalbank and its clients are positioned for growth, and this syndication provides the medium-term finance to underpin that growth.”
In addition to the syndicated loans, IFC will provide Transcapitalbank with a multi-currency swap facility, which can be used to manage the bank’s risks and support ruble funding to its clients.
“We see significant growth in commercial banks’ interest to provide financing to sustainable Russian private banks. This syndication will send a strong signal to other investors and help re-establish the market for other Russian banks,” said Ritva Laukkanen, IFC Director for Syndications and Resource Mobilization. “IFC’s swap facility also will provide direct support for Transcapitbank’s ruble lending, a primary need among the banks’ small business clients.”
Nick Tesseyman, EBRD's Managing Director for the Financial Institutions Sector, said, “The success of this transaction shows that a well-run midsize Russian private bank, which has proven resistant to the financial and economic crisis, once again can tap international financial markets for medium-term funding, and eventually, for longer-term money.”
The commercial banks participating in the syndication
are
Commerzbank AG, FBN Bank (UK) Ltd, ING Bank N.V., RZB, Standard Chartered Bank and VTB Bank (Deutschland) AG. as initial mandated lead arrangers.
Other participants are: Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V. as mandated lead arranger, AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft mbH, as lead arranger; Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA, London Forfaiting Company Ltd, and the Royal Bank of Scotland N.V. as co-arrangers and ADRIA Bank AG as manager.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
