news - USD 100 million syndicated loan for BAM

Guatemala, November 6, 2013 – Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (“BAM”), the fourth largest bank in Guatemala, marked its debut in the syndicated loan market with a USD 100 million senior unsecured facility, arranged by FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company). The transaction is reported to be the largest ever syndicated facility for a bank in Guatemala.

The multi-tranche A/B loan was led by Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner FMO. FMO arranged a USD 50 million, 7 year A-tranche and a USD 50 million B-tranche. The A tranche was subscribed by FMO and DEG (Deutsche Investition- und Entwicklungsgesekkschaft MBH) and the 5-year B-tranche has participations from seven commercial banks from four different countries. These include Westtrust Bank (an affiliate of Banco Industrial), Davivienda El Salvador, Global Bank, Interbanco, Banco Aliado, Banco Ficohsa and BICSA.

This transaction generates important development impact as it provides long term financing, which is not readily available in the Guatemalan market, and it will largely be used for lending to renewable energy projects, improving the population’s access to clean energy. In addition, the facility will be used for general portfolio growth, including through lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), contributing to private sector development in Guatemala and the Central American region. FMO is also providing added value by supporting BAM with the design and implementation of an environmental and social management system.

“This is a milestone transaction for our client BAM and for FMO, especially because this is the first time that we are able to catalyze this amount of long term funding from regional commercial banks,” said Linda Broekhuizen, Director Financial Institutions at FMO. 

Christian Schneider, BAM’s CEO, said, "This is a very important transaction for BAM and we are pleased to have FMO as lead arranger for this long term financing facility. It constitutes a milestone in BAM´s growth plan and opens a wide range of opportunities for us and our clients”

AboutBAM

BAM is the fourth largest bank in Guatemala with 7.6% market share (based on total assets). Its history dates back to the 1920’s when its predecessor Banco Agricola Mercantil issued the first Guatemalan currency, the Quetzal. In 2000, BAM was created from the merger of Banco Agricola Mercantil and Banco del Agro. Grupo Bancolombia recently acquired a 40% interest in BAM. Currently, BAM has close to 3,000 employees, about 1.1m clients and 235 branches, spread across the country. It offers commercial banking products to MSMEs and corporates as well as retail banking services.

About FMO

FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 6.3 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks.

www.fmo.nl

Press contact:

Paul Hartogsveld, Communications Officer (PR)

T: +31 70 314 99 28                        

E: p.hartogsveld@fmo.nl