Ziraat Bank secures $1.4 billion syndicated loan

ANKARA

State lender Ziraat Bank has secured a $1.425 billion syndicated loan with the participation of 40 banks from 22 countries.

The total cost of the loan, which consists of $470 million and 849 million euros, will be IBOR+250 base points for the U.S. dollar and EURIBOR+240 base points for the euro part.

“We have renewed our syndicated loan of $422 million and 798 million euros, which was due for April, by increasing the amount to a total of $1.425 billion,” said Ziraat Bank Executive Vice President Treasury and International Banking Bilgehan Kuru.

“We continue to increase our syndicated loan, which we launched in 2013 with $700 million with the aim of diversifying our non-deposit resources and increasing our share in the financing of foreign trade,” he added.

The diversity of the lenders in terms of geography and the increase in the participation amount is an indicator of the sustainability of Turkish banks’ foreign financing, according to Kuru.

“This credit by 40 lenders from 22 countries from various geographies from Asia to Southern America once against confirms the trust in belief in Turkish economy and Ziraat Bank’s business model,” he said, thanking the lenders for their support.

Ziraat will back the real economy and the country’s balance of savings with the loan, he added.

The state-bank continues its “sustainable growth” in credits and increased its market share in foreign trade operations sevenfold in the past six years, he said.