TheCable

Bank of Industry (BOI) says it has received an award for the ‘International Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year’ at the Bonds and Loans Africa Awards ceremony.

A syndicated loan or syndicated bank facility is financing offered by a group of lenders — referred to as a syndicate — who work together to provide funds for a single borrower.

Hadiza Olaosebikan, head of corporate communications, BOI, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.

At the award ceremony on Wednesday in Mount Nelson, Cape Town, South Africa, BOI was presented with the award in recognition of its $1 billion syndicated term loan facility successfully raised in the international market in December 2020.

In the statement, Olukayode Pitan, managing director, BOI, said the recognition promoted the bank’s impact as Nigeria’s leading Development Finance Institution (DFI).

“This is seen in the BoI’s commitment to maximising its developmental impact by raising and deploying funds that enhanced its capacity to support customers,” Pitan said.

“The award came on the back of BoI’s successful issuance of a €750mn Senior Eurobond (the first by any African national DFI) in February 2022.”

He also said the bank has raised about $3.8 billion from the international financial market in the last four years.

“This includes another syndicated loan of €1bn in March 2020, and a 750 million dollars syndicated medium-term loan in 2018 which has been fully paid-off,” Pitan said.

“The exhaustive selection process for the award involved close examination of deal size, tenor, structure, and distribution; analysis and background of the borrower and their accessibility to financing.

“Others included borrowers extra credit for deals that demonstrate high-quality execution, accessing new pools of liquidity, innovative structuring, and opening-up new markets.

“We look forward to intensifying our efforts to catalyse sustainable economic growth for Nigeria and the continent at large.”

Pitan also acknowledged the significant role that enormous strategic partners played in the consummation of this deal despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are especially grateful for the support of our lead arrangers, underwriters and book runners,” Pitan said.

“Afreximbank, Credit Suisse A.G, Rand Merchant Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; and the Central Bank of Nigeria provided a 100 percent currency swap that allowed us to mitigate foreign exchange rate risks.”

The Bonds and Loans Africa Awards is recognised for its innovative and ground-breaking deal from sovereign, corporate and financial institution issuers and borrowers since 2014.