NCB raises largest murabaha facility in Saudi banking sector

National Commercial Bank (NCB), the Kingdom’s largest bank by assets, has raised a three-year unsecured $1.05 billion murabaha term facility.

The first-of-its-kind dual tranche transaction was structured to allow for flexibility on the lender’s side, with consideration for new Shariah standards set by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

The initial mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and joint coordinators for the transaction were HSBC and Mizuho, with participation from a range of

NCB’s regional and international relationship banks.

NCB’s debut international syndicated term loan facility is also the largest murabaha facility ever raised by a Saudi bank and represents an expansion in the bank’s funding strategy. Despite volatile market conditions, the deal received strong interest.