EMEKA OKOROANYAWU
Ecobank Transnational Inc. sold $450 million of Eurobonds, the first debt sale by a Nigerian listed bank in 18 months. Ecobank’s Eurobond is a five-year senior unsecured Note priced at 9.75 per cent.
According to Renaissance Capital, one of the arrangers for the funding will help the bank to meet its general corporate obligations, including the refinancing of a portion of debt it owes other banks.
Other arrangers for the bond were Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Standard Chartered Plc.
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The Ecobank Eurobond yield is about the juiciest since Ecuador sold $1 billion of 10-year sovereign debt at 10.75 percent in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields on those securities have dropped to 9 percent as sentiment toward emerging markets improved and the government secured a $4.2 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
Ecobank raised $200 million in loans last year, which are due for repayment in November. Many banks in Nigeria are seeking to raise funds to finance their operations or increase capital reserves as some are still suffering from the 2016 recession which saw their non-performing loans portfolio skyrocketing while stricter accounting rules increased impairments.
No Nigerian-listed bank had sold Eurobonds since October 2017 when Fidelity Bank Plc issued $400 million of five-year securities at 10.75 percent. The price on those has since risen, sending the yield down to about 8.8 percent.
Ecobank’s net income jumped 44 percent to $328 million in 2018, while operating income was $1.8 billion
