OREANDA-NEWS. On 20th October 2006, Sberbank signed a USD 1.5 billion Syndicated Facility Agreement with foreign banks. The bookrunners of the transaction were ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Barclays Capital, J.P. Morgan plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited. The transaction attracted 30 banks from a wide range of countries and demonstrated a strong commitment to Sberbank from the international lender community.

The syndicated loan has a three-year tenor with bullet repayment. Initially the borrowing was announced at USD 1 billion but with demand at almost USD 1.7 billion, Sberbank agreed to close the general syndication at USD 1.5 billion.

Priced at LIBOR+0.3%, the deal carries the lowest margin for any unsecured 3-year syndicated loan for a Russian borrower to date. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The deal is the largest ever unsecured syndicated loan for a financial institution out of Russia or other CIS countries, as well as out of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Sberbank's USD 1.5 billion syndicated loan is considered to be among three largest FI syndicated transactions in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) in 2006YTD.