Sterling Bank Secures $65m Loans from Arab Bank

By Dipo Olowookere

Tier-2 Nigerian lender, Sterling Bank Plc, has obtained a credit facility worth $65 million from a financial institution owned by 18 Arab countries members of the League of Arab States (LAS) known as Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

The loan deal, which comes in two parts, was signed on Monday, February 18, 2019, in Cairo, with the first Line of Credit worth $15 million.

This is to be used to finance private sector projects, while the second one, which amounts to $50 million, is a Line of Credit for financing Arab Exports to African importers, as part of BADEA’s program for financing Foreign Trade.

According to BADEA, the first Line of Credit aims to help the bank to finance private sector projects in Nigeria by re-lending its resources to its customers.

The loan also aims to enhance the role of the private sector in the country’s economic and social development, to contribute to the mobilization of the production and service sectors, creating job opportunities, providing and delivering various goods and services and supporting the country’s budget, through tax revenues, which will enhance opportunities for economic growth and improving the living standards of the population.

Within the same context, the two parties also signed a loan agreement to finance a Line of Credit that will be allocated to Trade Finance Operations.

This Line of Credit aims to bring Arab goods and products to Nigeria by re-lending its resources to beneficiaries in the country.

The Line also aims to encourage and promote trade exchanges between Arab and African countries and help to define African markets for Arab products, and thus help in the growth of Arab Exports destined for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Confirming the deal, Sterling Bank, in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, said the the Director General of BADEA, Mr Sidi Ould TAH, signed the loan agreements on behalf of BADEA, while Mr Yemi Odubiyi, Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking, signed on behalf of Sterling Bank.