Sharjah bank signs $135mloan facility

Bank of Sharjah said, it has signed a $135 million (Dh495.45 million) club term loan facility with four Mandated Lead Arrangers: Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (also acting as Agent and Coordinator), National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, Intesa SanPaolo and Wells Fargo Bank. The two-year facility will be used by the bank for its general corporate purposes, specifically for dollar denominated transactions. The facility carries a margin of 1.5 per cent per annum, similar to the pricing applied to the one-year term loan raised by the bank last year and fully repaid in July 2011. Bank of Sharjah was the only bank in the region to sign a loan with a syndicate of banks in 2010. Varouj Nerguizian, executive director and general manager, commented: "The political unrest which erupted in the Mena region during the first quarter of 2011 has negatively impacted the regional financial markets. The necessity of continually assessing risk and monitoring exposure, coupled with new risk classification measures introduced by the UAE Central Bank, if effectively implemented, might prove challenging to the banking industry in 2011, considering the subdued economic environment. Article continues below "Bank of Sharjah, with its corporate and investment profile, will further continue strengthening its balance sheet structures and ratios."