Qatar’s QNB Group has closed the syndication of its $3bn three-year senior unsecured term loan facility.

The bank says the syndication was well supported by 20 international banks and was over-subscribed adding that the new facility will be used for general corporate purposes. The interest rate is London interbank offered rate (Libor) plus 60 basis points a year. 

Barclays Bank and HSBC are the coordinating banks on the deal. Japanese lenders Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank and SMBC, alongside Germany’s Deutsche Bank and the UK’s Standard Chartered, are the initial mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal.

QNB also says it has prepaid in full the earlier existing loan of $1.8bn prior to issuing the new loan facility.

QNB is the largest bank in the Middle East and it saw its assets grow to a new high over the course of 2014, reaching QR486bn ($133.6bn).

Total assets increased by almost 10 per cent from December 2013. The lender also recorded a close to 9 per cent growth in loans and advances to reach QR338bn.

Net profits also grew, rising by 10.3 per cent on 2013 to reach QR10.5bn.

QNB maintained a low non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 1.6 per cent, one of the lowest ratios seen across the Middle East and Africa.

During 2014, it expanded its international presence, acquiring a 19.4 stake in Africa’s EcoBank. The Qatari bank also acquired an additional stake in QNB Indonesia, bringing its total stake to 82.6 per cent.