The City Bank has successfully closed a USD 45 million syndicated loan, which was arranged by Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman.
The transaction, which was initially launched for USD 25 million with a Greenshoe option, received strong participation from reputed international banks across different geographical locations including Europe, Middle East and Africa. It was subsequently scaled up by 80 per cent, finally closing at USD 45 million, said a statement.
Bank Muscat is a leading syndicated loan arranger in Emerging Markets. This is the third successful syndicated loan facility arranged by Bank Muscat for City Bank, and the first one, which is SOFR-linked. In addition to being the arranger, Bank Muscat also acted as the book runner for this transaction.
With the world still recovering from the pandemic and economies impacted heavily by the current geo-political tension, this loan facility will provide crucial support to City Bank's foreign currency liquidity.
City Bank, which is one of the top banks in the trade sector of the country, will be able to use the loan to finance its trade transactions. This will in turn assist the country's trade activities in the current world scenario, and support the growth of the economy.
Sheikh Mohammad Maroof, Additional Managing Director & Chief Business Officer, expressed delight on the closure of the syndicated loan and said, "We are extremely happy to see the overwhelming response from global banks to City Bank's syndication loan. Being oversubscribed by 80 per cent portrays City Bank's strength and acceptance in global financial markets. In the current global scenario, we have taken multiple initiatives including this loan to ensure strong liquidity for the bank and cater to increasing trade requirements of our clients. I would like to thank Bank Muscat for the longstanding relationship with City Bank and for helping us close this deal."
It must be noted that City Bank availed the first syndicated loan of EUR 20 million from Bank Muscat in 2019, which was the first such loan by a Bangladeshi bank that was arranged by an Omani bank. In 2020, City Bank followed up its initial loan with a USD 30 million syndicated loan.
With assets worth over US$ 33 billion, Bank Muscat is the leading bank in the Sultanate of Oman with the largest banking network and a 35 per cent market share. The bank has an extensive network of correspondent banking relationships across the world, which is instrumental in channelising trade business and raising funds on favourable financing terms from lenders across the GCC, Europe, USA, Asia and Africa.
