FINANCE: HB joins EBRD in $350 mln syndicate loan to Arcelor Mittal

Hellenic Bank has joined its junior shareholder, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to provide a $350 mln syndicated loan to steelmaker ArcelorMittal.

The announcement, the first since the banking crisis brought all lenders to their knees in 2013 forcing them to seek new investors, said that EBRD is providing a $350 mln syndicated loan to ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) to support the modernisation and environmental upgrade of Ukraine’s largest steel mill, PubJSC AMKR.

The financing will consist of an EBRD A loan of $200 mln as part of a $350 mln A/B loan and an additional financing of $150 mln granted by participants in the B loan.

Hellenic Bank’s participation in the B loan is in the amount of $10 mln. The other participant banks are AKA Ausfuhrkedit-Gesellschaft mbH, Credit Agricole CIB, Federated Project and Trade Finance Core Fund and Raiffeisen International.

EBRD currently owns 5.4% of the issued share capital of Hellenic Bank.

This follows a loan from the European Investment Bank to Hellenic announced days earlier to provide EUR 40 mln in funding to businesses.

Hellenic said that since September 2014 it has provided EUR 220 mln in low-interest loans to support Small and medium-sized enterprises.

The new facility is for a total of EUR 53.36 mln in loans to businesses, of which 40 mln is from EIB capital and the rest from Hellenic’s funds.