International Bank of Azerbaijan gets $160m syndicated loan

The International Bank of Azerbaijan, the largest bank and the only one that's state-owned in the oil-rich country, has secured a $160 million dual-currency syndicated loan to use for corporate needs.

The transaction was intended to raise $125 million, but strong interest from international investors led to heavy oversubscription and enabled the bank to increase the amount to $160 million, the bank said in a statement.

The facility has a tenor of one year and is dual-currency, with tranches of $48 million and 81 million euros.

Leading managers of the transaction were Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V., Citibank, Commerzbank, ING, JPMorgan, Raiffeisen.

"The strong support for this facility demonstrates the growing confidence and trust international investors place in the Azeri banking system and particularly in IBA," the bank said.

The bank, 50.2 percent owned by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Finance, holds 35 percent of the country's banking assets. Its net profit rose by 10-15 percent in 2013 to about $70 million.

Another leading Azeri bank, AccessBank, secured a $60 million syndicated loan earlier this month arranged by Raiffeisen Bank International AG and joined by 16 other foreign banks. The money raised will be used for lending to micro businesses. 

ANN.Az