IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia's Bank Al Bilad priced an Islamic bond issue worth 2 billion riyals ($533 million) at 200 basis points above the three-month Saudi interbank offered rate. The sukuk have a tenor of 10 years, with the bank having the right to call the bond at the end of the fifth year. They were sold through a private placement. Bank Al Bilad said the raised funds would support its capital base in line with Basel III standards.

Saudi Arabia's Bank Al Bilad has received regulatory approval to issue a capital-boosting sukuk worth as much as 2 bn riyals ($533.3 m), it said in a bourse statement on Sunday.
The issue will enhance its Tier 2, or supplementary, capital and last for 10 years, although the bank has the option to redeem the sukuk after the fifth year, according to the filing.
Sources told Reuters last month that Bank Al Bilad, one of the smaller lenders in Saudi Arabia, had chosen HSBC's local unit to arrange the Islamic bond offering. ($1 = 3.7502 riyals)

Bank Al Jazira will meet local fixed income investors this week for a sukuk sale which will improve its Tier 2. The transaction will likely run for ten years but includes an option to redeem the sukuk after five years. It is being arranged by GIB Capital, as well as the bank's own investment banking arm. Bank Al Bilad has chosen HSBC's Saudi Arabian arm to arrange its own Tier 2-enhancing sukuk issue. According to their respective financial statements, Bank Al Jazira's CAR was 15.83% at the end of 2015. At the same point, Bank Al Bilad's CAR was 15.88%.

Moody's has assigned Bank Al Bilad a long-term credit rating of A2 and short term credit rating of P-1. Moody’s said that the ratings on Bank Al Bilad reflect the banks strong financial position, strong asset quality and coverage metrics, solid capitalisation levels and strong profitability resulting from growing business volume, efficiency gains and the solid contribution of non-funded revenues, in addition to the strong fundamentals of the Saudi economy supporting the growth in the banking sector. Moodys emphasised the importance of Islamic finance and associated opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) has signed a sharia-compliant loan facility worth SR4 billion ($1.06 billion) with seven Saudi banks and Emirates NBD. The Saudi banks which contributed are Riyad Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Bank Al Bilad, Saudi British Bank, Samba Financial Group, Banque Saudi Fransi and Saudi Investment Bank. The financing, signed on Sunday, will be repaid in eight years including a one-year grace period. The loan, which was covered 1.5 times, will finance the company's stakes in future projects and refinance existing loans.