Middle East

Bahrain has picked five banks to arrange its next Eurobond. With one of those banks also linked to a Saudi Arabia mandate, the deals are expected to be timed to avoid collision.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is set to hit the road for the Middle East’s first ever green bond, planting a flag in the sand for sustainable bond issuance from the region.

Korea Development Bank, one of the two co-ordinating banks for Akbank’s loan, stepped away from the mandate last week, it has been revealed, after the attempted military coup left the borrower facing a rating downgrade into junk territory.

Sharjah Islamic Bank has mandated three international banks, as well as several local banks, to arrange a senior dollar sukuk transaction.

Sovereign mandates are starting to trickle through in CEEMEA as borrowers ready themselves for September. Bahrain has picked five banks to manage a dollar transaction and the market is waiting for updates from Egypt and Nigeria.

Abu Dhabi investment firm Waha Capital has signed a $500m loan with a number of international banks from the original facility missing from the refinancing.

Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia (Zain) has refinanced a syndicated loan it signed in June for a cheaper, longer dated bilateral deal from ICBC.

Bahrain has picked five banks to arrange its next Eurobond. With one of those banks also linked to the Saudi Arabia mandate, the deals are expected to be timed to avoid collision.

Akbank will widen the margin on its loan by 25bp if the bank is downgraded. The move is a condition the bank’s relationship lenders required after the attempted coup in Turkey on July 15. While Burgan Bank this week avoided a similar clause, other Turkish banks will likely have to accept them.

Last Friday, Turkey managed to cling on to its investment grade status after Moody’s left its credit rating on hold. But with selling pushing the sovereign wider than several countries with lower ratings, bankers and investors are questioning where the money has been moved to.

Burgan Bank Turkey has signed a $150m one year loan which does not include a margin flex if the bank is downgraded. The signing comes as the country’s larger banks face increasing calls to write in such clauses in case of rating changes.

Akbank will widen the margin on its loan by 25bp if the bank is downgraded, a condition the bank’s relationship lenders called for after Turkey’s attempted coup on July 15. But two lenders said the step-up should be bigger.