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First Gulf Bank Repays $750 Million Syndicated Loan

ABU DHABI - First Gulf Bank has fully repaid the syndicated loan of $ 750 million that it borrowed three years ago for its expansion plans.

The term loan facility was signed in March 2006, and was repaid after it matured on this March 16, the First Gulf Bank , also known as FGB, said on Sunday. Initially launched in the market at $500 million, the deal attracted subscriptions and commitments from 32 regional and international banks and was oversubscribed for a total amount of $825 million. In view of strong market demand, FGB had decided to increase the original funding of $500 million by 50 per cent to $750 million.

The Bank of Tokyo of Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Capital, Calyon, Commerzbank, Gulf International Bank and Standard Chartered Bank were the `original mandated lead arrangers’ and had fully underwritten the transaction. “This facility was part of FGB’s commitment towards its growth and expansion, and strategy of diversifying the sources of funds. It helped the bank in achieving its planned growth targets. The level of interest was significant and clearly reflected the trust that all participants have placed in FGB as one of the leading financial institutions in the region,” the Press release said quoting André Sayegh, the CEO of the bank.

“Year after year, FGB proved to be one of the most dynamic, best performing, most efficient and most profitable institutions. Despite the challenging current economic conditions, we are right on our way to achieve our set targets,” Sayegh claimed.

FGB’s Net profit was Dh1.5 billion at the end of 2006, and reached Dh2 billion by the end of 2007. The bank had achieved a net profit of Dh3 billion in 2008, representing an impressive increase of 50 per cent over its 2007 results. 


ramavarman@khaleejtimes.ae