The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement to provide a $100 million financing facility to Akbank, the oldest and largest private sector bank in Turkey.
The facility consists of a $100 million syndicated loan, or B-loan, in which 14 commercial banks have participated. IFC also provided from its own account a direct long-term project finance facility for $55 million that was arranged previously. With the addition of a bond offering in international markets that IFC has yet to launch, the IFC facility is expected to reach $200–260 million when all financing is completed.
IFC's participation in this transaction provided the risk mitigation necessary to attract banks to longer-term financing in Turkey. "This transaction is very significant for Turkey since it is the first time a domestic financial institution has received an unsecured syndicated loan with a tenor exceeding one year since another IFC transaction was completed in March 2000," said IFC Vice President, Finance, Nina Shapiro. "This syndication, which was oversubscribed by 100 percent, shows how B-loans can be effective in different situations."
Included in the list of banks participating in the B-loan are Bayerische Hypovereinsbank, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden, Gulf International Bank, National Bank of Kuwait and Standard Chartered Bank.
Akbank was established in 1948 by Haci Omer Sabanci, the founder of the Sabanci Group. Currently, Akbank is the largest private sector bank in Turkey in terms of shareholders' equity, loan portfolio, and total deposits. As of the first half of the year, the bank had total assets of $16.8 billion equivalent, total deposits of $11.5 billion equivalent and shareholders' equity of $2.7 billion equivalent. With a capital adequacy ratio of 43.5 percent, Akbank is the best capitalized bank in Turkey. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
