Norton Rose advises on $900m syndicated facility for First Gulf Bank

The facility is the largest loan market transaction undertaken by a financial institution in the UAE this year and is to be used by FGB for its general corporate purposes, including the expansion of its existing operations as well as its growing global footprint.

The syndicate of banks comprised Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Citibank, N.A., UAE Branch, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of China, London Branch, Samba Financial Group, Union National Bank PJSC, Al Khalij Commercial Bank QSC and Arab Bank PLC

First Gulf Bank is one of the leading banks in the UAE. Established in 1979 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, FGB provides a wide spectrum of financial services in various business sectors through a network of branches across the Emirates. FGB also has branches in Singapore and Qatar, a representative office in India and a subsidiary in Libya.

Banking partner, Matthew Escritt commented: "We are delighted to have been involved in this significant loan market transaction in the UAE. The facility's size and its pricing indicate that there remains strong appetite amongst market participants for loans to investment grade borrowers with strong fundamentals."

The Norton Rose team was led by partner Matthew Escritt with support from senior associate, Ahmet Kalafat.