Bank of Sharjah, a leading bank in the UAE, said it has mandated a group of banks to arrange a $100 million loan for 'its general corporate purposes.'

The two-year loan will be arranged by Germany’s Commerzbank as the lead arranger along with National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Spain’s Intesa Sanpaolo, and Wells Fargo of the US.

The Sharjah bank said the loan was mainly "to source US dollars to manage the bank’s assets and liabilities and currency mismatches."

This is the first term-loan to a GCC-based bank since the start of the global economic downturn, and the success of this transaction is a testament to Bank of Sharjah’s financial strength and reputation, the bank said in its statement.

The bank said the transaction also reflects the growing demand for sound investment-grade assets in the region.

"This is not a restructuring to the existing one-year club deal that was arranged last year. This club deal is due on July 29 and will be paid at maturity, it stated.

"The existing $150 million club-deal facility exceeded by 50 per cent the initial target amount of $100 million, highlighting the lenders’ confidence in the bank," it added.-TradeArabia News Service