The London branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has signed a loan facility agreement worth $1 billion, its biggest loan facility to date. The bank, which in last September became the first Chinese bank to operate in the UK, had launched a loan raising program for $500 million, but it was significantly oversubscribed, with the facilities being increased and the lenders scaled back. The bank wants to refinance existing facilities, increase amounts and extend maturities using the loan, according to a bank official. The loan facility is divided between a 2-year, $550 million tranche priced at 60bp over Libor, and a 3-year, $450 million tranche, priced at 80bp over Libor. The banks involved in the facility included Lloyds Bank as coordinator and Wells Fargo as facility agent and ANZ, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, ING, and Standard Chartered.
