OREANDA-NEWS. November 23, 2007. AK BARS bank intends to double the amount of its USD 140mn syndicated loan that was attracted back in Dec 2006 to USD 280mn. The bank will attract a new one year USD 140mn syndicated loan based on the agreement it signed last year.

The annualized yield is set at LIBOR + 1.3% per annum. ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank are the managers of the loan. The funds raised will be used to provide loans for the investment projects of the bank’s clients and to provide financing for small and medium-sized companies. AK BARS is one of the 20 largest Russian banks.

It was founded by the government of Tatarstan region in 1993. Its major shareholders are oil company Tatneft (29.46%) and AK BARS Holding (18.42%). The bank’s assets soared by 64.1% y/y through H1/07 to 83.869bn (USD 3.28bn); shareholders’ equity grew by 6.9% y/y to RUR 9.966bn.