Bahrain-based International Investment Bank (IIB) has announced the disposal of a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, resulting in more than 30 per cent IRR for the bank.

The aircraft, which was purchased by IIB in a sale and leaseback transaction earlier this year, is on lease to a leading regional airline on a non-cancellable basis for a period of nine years, and has recently been sold to an international buyer.

“We are very pleased to announce this successful exit and the positive contribution it will make to the bank’s performance during the second half of 2015,” said Subhi Benkhadra, IIB chief executive officer.

“There is currently a strong appetite in the market for high yielding assets with good credit ratings, which explains the interest this investment has received from investors.

“This exit was an easy decision for IIB to make because it offered much higher returns than we anticipated when we entered into the sale and leaseback transaction earlier this year, in addition to boosting the Bank’s liquidity position. IIB is currently exploring other attractive deals in the aviation market,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service