NBF says it exceeded club loan target

Refuting an earlier media report that the $235 million two-year club loan deal that National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) signed this week with a consortium of lenders was less than the targeted amount, NBF said that it well exceeded its target of $210m.

In a statement emailed to Emirates 24/7, the bank said: “The aim of the club loan was to meet our business objectives including refinancing of a $210m facility undertaken by NBF in 2008. Our target was to exceed the amount of $210m raised by the previous facility – we exceeded this target by a clear margin.”

Earlier this week, a Reuters report had said that the amount NBF raised was “less than the $250m the lender expected to raise when it launched the loan in April, to refinance an existing facility maturing this month”.

In today’s statement, NBF has clarified that the overwhelming response it received to the deal meant it had to turn down some candidate banks. “In fact, the interest in the club deal was so positive that the bank turned away many offers from other banks, an enviable position that allowed the bank to conclude the facility with fewer participants and better terms than expected,” it said without disclosing the pricing for the transaction. 

“While structuring this transaction, the National Bank of Fujairah was more interested in finding the right mix of good-quality counterparties to work with rather than meeting a particular sum, and had done so satisfactorily with a strong group of long-time partners and established multi-national banks,” the statement said.

Emirates NBD, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Wells Fargo, Commerzbank, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Lloyds TSB were all mandated lead arrangers on the deal. Commerzbank was also the facility agent.

Among NBF's major shareholders are the governments of Fujairah and Dubai, both emirates within the UAE.

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