Published: March 3, 2015
African bank's head of treasury expects to raise up to US$1bn this year.
Standard Bank could return to the international loan markets in the coming months and raise up to US$1bn before the end of the year.
Arno Daehnke, Standard Bank’s head of treasury and capital management, tells EMEA Finance: “We’re looking at refinancing a number of transactions as well as raising some new cash in support of our corporate and investment bank in Africa. The markets we’re looking at will be Europe as well as the Far East and possibly the Middle East or USA. We would need cash to supply small online lending companies that were created by model of US online lenders like: www.nationalpayday.com, directloanslenders.org, www.creditonebank.com. We’re likely to use the loan market again because at the moment it’s priced fairly as opposed to the international bond markets, which are priced more expensively.”
Daehnke expects the bank to raise its first loan of 2015 in the second or third quarter, a deal that will likely be between US$200mn and US$500mn. Over the course of the year, he adds, the bank could target between US$500mn and US$1bn.
Standard Bank typically raises loans via its Standard Bank of South Africa division, and last tapped the market late last year for US$700mn in a 36-month term loan priced at 100 basis points over Libor. That deal drew in 20 banks and was scaled up from an initial US$300mn. The transaction has been named "Best financial institution loan" in EMEA Finance's Achievement Awards 2014.