Akbank Cuts Margin on Syndicated Loan as Refinancing Wave Starts

(Bloomberg) -- Akbank TAS, Turkey’s second-largest lender by market value, is seeking a syndicated facility at lower interest rates, a year after the bank increased loan margins amid depreciation in the lira.

The dual-currency loan, due next month, is being refinanced for another 367 days, Akbank’s spokesman said in an emailed response to questions. The deal size isn’t final, though the outstanding amount is at $285 million and 591 million euros ($648 million), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The deal is the first of a slew of annual refinancing to come from Turkey’s banks, and borrowers that follow are expected to mirror Akbank’s pricing. A year ago, Turkiye Is Bankasi AS paid the same terms as Akbank, which clinched a refinancing deal at the height of the country’s economic crisis. Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi has around $1 billion of loans due next month.

• Akbank is offering a 185 basis-point margin on the dollar tranche, and 170 basis points on the euro portion, according to the spokesman
• The Turkish lender paid 200 basis points on a dollar tranche and 190 basis points on a euro facility when it completed a $700 million loan of the same tenor in March

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Emirates NBD PJSC and Standard Chartered Plc are coordinators on the refinancing, the spokesman said. Commitments are expected by the end of this month, with a closing scheduled for early October.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cagan Koc in Istanbul at ckoc2@bloomberg.net;Jacqueline Poh in London at jpoh39@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Hannah Benjamin at hbenjamin1@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky

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