Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a prominent banking group in Africa, has successfully secured a $250 million bridge-to-bond loan. This financing arrangement, facilitated by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), signifies a significant milestone for ETI and highlights the growing importance of collaboration among African financial institutions to drive economic growth and development across the continent.
The $250 million loan, structured as an unsecured bridge-to-bond facility, underscores the confidence of Afreximbank and AFC in ETI’s business model and strategic vision. This injection of liquidity will provide Ecobank with the flexibility needed to pursue its strategic objectives, including expanding its trade finance operations, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and enhancing its digital banking offerings.
Afreximbank and AFC played a critical role in arranging this $250 million loan facility, serving as global coordinators and initial mandated lead arrangers. Mashreqbank psc. also played an important role in the transaction, serving as a mandated lead arranger.
The $250 million loan facility has a term of 12 months, with the possibility of extending it by an additional six months if the lenders approve. In addition, the facility has an “accordion” feature that allows the total commitments to be increased within a given timeframe, providing additional flexibility for ETI.
Ayo Adepoju, Ecobank’s chief financial officer, applauded the new facility, noting that it will enhance the bank’s liquidity position and further diversify its funding sources. According to Adepoju, the strong market support for Ecobank, particularly its ability to raise funds during challenging economic conditions, is a reflection of the bank’s financial strength and credibility.
Adepoju also expressed his gratitude to the teams that worked on the facility and to the lead arrangers for their commitment and support.
Facilitating International Trade And Economic Development
Trade finance plays a pivotal role in facilitating international trade and economic development, particularly in emerging markets like Africa. By providing financial instruments and services to facilitate trade transactions, banks like Ecobank contribute to fostering regional integration, stimulating economic growth, and creating employment opportunities across the continent.
Ecobank Group is the leading private Pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, UK, UAE and China, its Pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investments. The Group employs over 15,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking products, services and solutions across multiple channels including digital, to over 32 million customers.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is also a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.
The Bank has a rich history of intervening in support of African countries in times of crisis. Through the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) launched in April 2020, Afreximbank has disbursed more than US$6.5 billion in 2020 to help member countries manage the adverse impact of financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has completed the development of a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2020, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$3.4 billion. Afreximbank disbursed more than US$42 billion between 2016 and 2020. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
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