FMO supports NTB growth, drives job creation in Sri Lanka
The FMO, a Dutch development bank, recently arranged a US$ 50 million syndicated loan for Nations Trust Bank (NTB) in Sri Lanka.
The loan supports further growth in NTB’s business banking activities which, for a number of years, has been strategically geared more towards small and medium enterprises and has a very successful track record so far.
In a media release, NTB said it’s “one of the top 10 banks in Sri Lanka and one of the fastest growing and most dynamic banks in the country with a branch network spanning across nearly 100 locations.” NTB says it’s also a frontrunner in promoting and adopting Fintech solutions as a means to further enhance its product and service offering.
This syndicated transaction is FMO’s first repeat deal for NTB following a subordinated loan which was provided eight years earlier to further the bank’s ambitious growth strategy.
Apart from supporting the bank to obtain stable funding to grow its business, the syndicated loan also enabled NTB to reach out to financiers such as Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, First Commercial Bank (Taiwan) and Atlantic Forfaitierungs, most of whom are lending to NTB for the first time thus exposing the bank to a highly diverse group of financiers in terms of geographies, backgrounds and areas of expertise.
“With this syndicated facility, FMO was able to blend tranches from commercial lenders and themselves to offer an overall facility with a fiveyear tenor that resulted in a maturity profile that aligned well with the client’s needs. Furthermore, FMO is pleased to have been able to include two participants in the syndicated loan who are first time lenders in a FMO arranged syndicated transaction. The financing underlines FMO’s commitment to driving Sri Lanka’s growth through partnerships with solid local institutions and by enabling other financial institutions to easily access this market,” the release said.
Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Investment Officer of FMO commented, “We are honoured to have been awarded the opportunity to further deepen our relationship with Nations Trust Bank, leveraging on the support of established and new partnerships with commercial financiers.”
Renuka Fer nando, NTB’s Director/CEO stated that the facility not only provided stable longer term funding to the bank but also opened doors to broad base funding options by establishing relationships with other commercial lenders some of whom are new to the Sri Lankan market.