RIGA - Nord/LB Latvija, the subsidiary of Germany's Norddeutsche Landesbank, signed an agreement with nine European banks on Feb. 22 over a 60-million euro syndicated loan.
The bank will use the money to grant financing to large corporate clients, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual clients, Nord/LB Latvija board chairman Andris Ozolins said.
The agreement was made for a period of five years, with an interest rate at Euribor plus 0.25 percent. Ozolins said he was pleased with obtaining the syndicated loan, as the bank had spent several months arranging it.
The loan will be provided by nine European banks 's Germany's WestLB as the lead manager, Baden-Wurttembergische Bank, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank as well as Finland's Sampo Bank, Austria's Erste Bank der Osterreichischen Sparkassen, Denmark's Danske Bank, Swiss bank Hurcher Kantonalbank and the Anglo-Irish Bank from Ireland.
According to Ozolins, the loan may not be the last such deal made this year. The bank has more arrangements for similar amounts planned for 2005, and will most likely use other methods for obtaining financial resources.
Last year Nord/LB Latvija expanded its credit recourse basis through external funding on three occasions 's by taking a 40-million euro syndicated loan, issuing 30 million euros worth of bonds and receiving a 10-million euro credit line from the European Investment Bank.
At the end of 2004, the bank had issued 308.71 million lats (439.3 million euros) in loans at a 95.7 percent growth from 2003.
In terms of assets, Nord/LB Latvija ranks seventh among 23 banks working in Latvia. Its shares are quoted on the free list of the Riga Stock Exchange.
