- Transaction follows Eur1bn previous facility
Nigeria’s state-owned Bank of Industry (BoI), the country’s oldest development finance institution, has secured a $1 billion African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Credit Suisse loan facility which would enable BoI to provide much needed support to Nigerian businesses across key sectors.
According to Afreximbank, the facility is the largest international syndicated loan to a Nigerian financial institution since the onset of the pandemic-induced economic difficulties.
The transaction was jointly arranged with Credit Suisse and involved a syndicate of 27 investors.
Afreximbank, along with Credit Suisse, acted as joint coordinating mandated lead arrangers (MLAs), underwriters and book runners. Afreximbank was the facility agent and security trustee. The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), SMBC, and the Export-Import Bank of China also joined the deal as mandated lead arrangers and book runners.
The transaction follows a previous one billion euros syndicated facility for Bank of Industry, which closed in March 2020.
Given the current adverse market conditions, the transaction constitutes a significant achievement for the parties involved. Importantly, the deal demonstrates the capacity of financial institutions to continue their vital activities during the pandemic and their positive attitude to African risks.
The $750 million underwriting provided by Afreximbank and Credit Suisse, which provided BoI with certainty of funds, distinguishes the transaction as amongst the few debt financings to be underwritten since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pan-African multilateral financial institution said.
According to Benedict Oramah, president of Afreximbank, the bank is pleased to have once again worked with its partners to facilitate access to international finance at a time it is most needed.
“The Bank of Industry is a pivotal development finance institution in Nigeria under able leadership. We are proud to have been given the opportunity once again,” he said.
Bank of Industry, with total assets of N682.97 billion as of 2016 and net income of N14.57 billion during the same period, is Nigeria’s oldest and largest development finance institution (DFI) owned by the federal ministry of finance (94.80 percent), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (5.19 percent) and private shareholders (0.01 percent).
