Housing bank raises $50 million

02 November 2001

Banque de l'Habitat (BH)of Tunisia has mandated Arab Banking Corporationand Credit Lyonnaisas lead arrangers for a $50 million loan. The facility has been launched to general syndication, which is expected to close by mid-November. The loan has a five-year tenor and is priced at 75 basis points (bp) over Libor.

BHis 57 per cent-owned by the Tunisian government and an ownership clause has been included into the loan structure. The bank's principal activity is providing housing loans to individuals and the proceeds from the loan will be used for general funding purposes.

Sources say the deal is likely to attract considerable interest among banks, despite its relatively small size, because there are few lending opportunities in Tunisia. The last loan that was available for syndication was a facility for state energy company Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite & du Gaz (STEG), which went to market last November.

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