The banks have committed about $1.5bn of commercial bank debt, with an additional $1.5bn loan from Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and a $300m facility guaranteed by Spanish export credit agency Sace.

The commercial bank debt is priced at London interbank offered rate (libor) plus 105 basis points, rising to 160 basis points. The final pricing is much higher than the libor plus 70-115 basis points that had been sought by RBS, although the debt is likely to be refinanced before the price has stepped up to 160 basis points over libor.

Banks that have joined the group include Arab Bank, Apicorp, Banco Santander, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, BNP Paribas, BBVA, CIC, Deutsche Pfandbrief, Dexia, Export Development Canada, Fortis, HSBC, KBC, KfW, Qatar National Bank, RBS, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Trust and Banking.