First Asian targeted syndicated loan in history of Baltic banking signed by Parex banka

Parex banka successfully closed a syndicated loan of EUR 69.50 million, at a margin of 0.65% over EURIBOR. The loan was heavily oversubscribed from its original launch amount of EUR 35 million and was launched simultaneously in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong by the Mandated Lead Arranger and underwriter Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. This is Parex banka’s sixth syndicated loan, and is a 364 day Term Loan Facility with an multi-currency option in EUR, USD, JPY or AUD. Eighteen banks from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and other European banks active in Asian markets committed to join the syndicated loan. Gene Zolotarev, Global Head of Capital Markets and Investment Banking commented: "Parex banka is the only institution from the Baltic region which has attracted such great interest from Asia. We are proud to be pioneers in establishing relationships with Asian partners, building on the success of our representative office in Japan, which we opened in 2003". Mr. Keizo Ohashi, General Manager of Mizuho London said: "We are delighted to have been involved in this ground breaking transaction and to have assisted Parex to be the first Eastern European based bank to specifically raise funds from the Asian market. The interest shown has been tremendous and we were especially pleased to see some banks entering this market for the first time. The oversubscription demonstrates Parex's international profile and its ability to tap the global loan markets".