Nedbank’s London branch has signed a $350m sustainability-linked syndicated term loan facility, which will be used to refinance outstanding balances on a prior loan.
The proceeds of the two-year loan, which comes with the option to extend for an additional year, will be used to refinance the $250m balance outstanding on a $500m syndicated term loan facility concluded on November 5 2019, as well as general corporate purposes. Nedbank initially signed a $250m facility in September but increased its size by a further $100m thanks to strong lending interest by 10 institutions from North America and the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific regions.
The transaction is Nedbank’s inaugural sustainability-linked loan (“SLL”) facility, with a margin contingent on the company’s performance with respect to two internal key performance indicators – renewable energy consumption as a percentage of the total energy consumption and reduction of total scope 1 and 2 emissions.
According to James Glover, managing executive of markets at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, the deal’s success demonstrates the strength of Nedbank’s banking relationships, its appeal to foreign investors, and Nedbank’s strong credit profile and environmental, social, and governance credentials.