Bank Muscat raising $500m syndicated loan

Dubai: Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest bank by assets, is raising $500 million through a syndicated loan, banking sources familiar with the situation said.
The three-year loan refinances a $600 million facility maturing in March that the Omani lender raised in 2014.
Bank Muscat’s refinancing facility offers an all-in pricing of 170 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate. The pricing comprises a 1.55 per cent interest margin plus 45 basis points in banks’ upfront fees, said one of the sources.
Bank ABC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi are coordinating the facility, a second banking source said.
Telephone calls seeking comment to two top executives of Bank Muscat and an email to the bank’s investor relations office were not answered.
Earlier this year pricing talks between the Omani lender and international banks were in the region of 185 basis points all-in, sources told Reuters at that time.
Bank Muscat raised a $315 million, three-year facility in May last year. That loan offered an all-in pricing of 200 basis points.
Bank ABC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, Commerzbank, HSBC, Mizuho, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Wells Fargo were involved in the 2014 loan.
The loan raised in 2016 was led by Bank ABC, Citigroup, Credit Agricole, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners, joined by Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg as mandated lead arranger.
Bank Muscat is rated Baa1 by Moody's, BBB- by Standard & Poor's and BBB by Fitch.