By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the MENA region and rated A3 (Moody’s), A (S&P) and A (Fitch), all with a stable outlook – successfully closed its US$ 2 billion syndicated loan with two tranches, a three-year and a five-year tranche. The transaction marks Mashreq’s return to the syndicated loan market. Its last syndicated loan issuance was in 2014.
The transaction was undertaken in two phases. In phase one, Mashreq, acting as the sole Global Coordinator, invited its core group of FI relationship banks from US, Europe, Australia and Japan along with large banks from China, Taipei and South Korea to participate. Phase one achieved commitments of US$ 1.9 billion and was closed at US$ 1.5 billion at the end of November. In phase two, Mashreq opened the five-year tranche to wider syndication, mainly focusing on Asian investors. Senior members of Mashreq’s management team – including Group CFO Norman Tambach and Group Head of Treasury and Global Markets Salman Hadi – conducted investor meetings in Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai, presenting the Mashreq credit story. The investor engagement proved highly successful, with total commitments of more than US$ 1.4 billion coming from 30 plus banks, representing an oversubscription of almost three times the targeted size of US$ 500 million. The massive oversubscription meant that the investor allocations had to be substantially scaled back.
Mashreq’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdelaal, remarked: “We are pleased with the strong support for this landmark transaction, both from our core relationship banks as well as from banks we were engaging with for the first time. Being the largest funding transaction in Mashreq’s history, it underscores the depth of investor confidence in Mashreq’s credit profile, strategy, and long-term fundamentals. This successful outcome and the new relationships we have built will support Mashreq’s growth ambitions into 2026 and beyond.”
Salman Hadi, Mashreq’s Group Head of Treasury and Global Markets, who led the issuance, stated: “We had strong conviction in Mashreq’s credit fundamentals, which gave us the confidence to move forward with the transaction. The strategic timing and execution allowed us to benefit from favorable market conditions, resulting in significant investor demand and the largest ever funding transaction for Mashreq.”
Norman Tambach, Mashreq’s Group CFO who delivered the credit story to the investors added: “It is indeed heartening to see that Mashreq’s exceptional growth story resulted in a truly landmark transaction for the Bank and attracted new investors. It’s a great note to end 2025 on, and we look forward to engaging with Asian investors in the future. A special thanks to all the investors who attended the road shows and engaged with us on this transaction.”
Mashreq was the sole Global Coordinator on this transaction whereas the Mandated Lead Managers and Bookrunners were Agricultural Bank of China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Bank of America Europe, Bank of China, Barclays Bank PLC, China Construction Bank, Citibank, N.A., Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co., Ltd., KDB Asia Limited, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank, The Korea Development Bank.
Bank of America Europe acted as documentation bank whereas Mizuho Bank, Ltd. is the facility agent.
