"This is the largest syndicated loan the bank has secured, [and] it will set a new price barrier, helping to strengthen the bank's positions on the market," Deputy Board Chairman Alexander Dementyev said. "The loan reflects the bank's high credit rating and its strong financial performance."
The loan, whose lead managers include The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd., Dresdner Kleinwort, ING Bank N.V., Natexis Banques Populaires and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd., will be extended at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 0.6%, and is due for repayment in a year's time.
Uralsib Bank ranks among Russia's top 30 banks in terms of assets (valued at $7.7 billion as of October 1, 2005), and is the core of the Uralsib Financial Corporation. Its net profit increased in the first quarter of this year to 7.56 billion rubles ($273 mln), 72.3% of the figure for the whole of 2005.
