By Modupe Gbadeyanka
There are strong indications that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country will soon begin to raise Dollar-denominated loans, particularly Eurobonds, as the Naira keeps on increasing in value.
Punch gathered that banks were currently positively arranged to raise Dollar loans taking after the making of the Investor and Exporters FX window by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the subsequent appreciation of the Naira.
Another reason the banks are thinking about Eurobonds, according to top banking sources, is on the grounds that some of them are taking a look at re-negotiating their dollar loans, which will soon begin falling due.
The top bank official stated, “Many banks must choose between limited options than to raise dollar loans or Eurobonds incompletely to re-negotiate their Eurobonds falling due, or to exploit the gratefulness in the naira value to raise dollar funding.”
While Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s $400m Eurobond is expected in November, Fidelity Bank Plc’s $300m is expected next May. Access Bank Plc has $350m of bonds due in July.
GTBank has said it has no arrangements to issue new Eurobonds, yet Fidelity Bank and Access Bank presently can’t seem to choose.
Monetary and financial expert concur that the banks will begin to raise dollar-denominated loans.
All things being equal, more banks will issue Eurobonds in light of the fact that they require dollars to offer advances in the United States cash or to repay debt, an investigator at Vetiva Capital Management Limited, Mr Lekan Olabode, told Bloomberg, including that more banks would issue Eurobonds, in light of the fact that they required dollars to offer loans and to repay debt.
As of now, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has said it is wanting to raise $400m five-year convertible security this month to renegotiate debt and provide short-term bridge funding to non-performing loans at its Nigerian unit.
Experts trust more banks will raise dollar credits this year and next year.
Officially, United Bank for Africa Plc has brought $500 million up in its first Eurobond deal.
It issued the bond on June 1. This took a comparable issue seven days prior by Zenith Bank Plc in an arrangement that was four times oversubscribed.
It is hard on putting a figure to what the normal dollar loans will be yet analyst trust that as the I and E FX window keeps on enhancing, more banks will exploit to raise additional dollar loans.
The CBN on Thursday said its currency window for investors had dealt with $2.2bn of exchange a month and a half.
It likewise said it represented just about 30 percent of the $2.2bn exchanges, adding this was intended to keep the window working.
The CBN had around 6 weeks back made the Investors and Exporters FX Window to attract foreign investors and at the same time maintain a strong currency to ward off inflation.
Experts have praised the activity as a stage in the correct direction.
In any case, some few experts, including a former Governor of the CBN, Prof Charles Soludo, said despite the fact that the activity, among others taken by the controller lately, had propelled the forex showcase by 10 stages, there was a need to find a way to get the economy to where it should be.
Source: Punch
Adedapo Adesanya