Loans
UniCredit Bank offers its clients short, medium and loang term loan services adjusted to their business needs, in both domestic and foreign currencies.
A working capital loan is a loan with a borrowing limit that is provided to the Company, usually for a period of up to one year, for the purpose of financing of short term working capital needs.
A working capital loan can be either revolving or non revolving and committed or uncommitted loan.
- Revolving loan allows a company flexibility to borrow funds when the need arises for the exact amount required up to approved limit, and to repay in the case of cash excess. Interest is paid only on the amount borrowed, typically on a monthly basis.
- In the case of non revolving loan the company can draw full available limit which is repaid usually in equal monthly installments till expiry of loan maturity.
In the case of committed line the Bank has future obligation to provide approved loan amount, should the Borrower request it, until the expiry of the Loan and under conditions specified in the Loan agreement. Uncommitted line, provides that the Bank has no future obligation to provide full loan amount.
Investment loan is type of financing, used for the financing of specific investment needs – capital expenditure of the Company. Realization of a specific investment is conducted within existing Company which usually participates in the investment financing.
The basis for a loan financing is the expected cash flow of the investment supported by existing business performance providing ability of the client to repay the loan over the agreed period.
The tenor of the cash flows generated by the underlying investment financing should match payment maturities under the credit facility. Specifically, in case of loans granted to finance fixed assets, the tenor of the credit line must not exceed the average amortization period of the underlying asset or the expected economic life of the assets.
As a general rule, credit facilities granted to finance capital expenditure shall be:
- Supported by a security over the relevant asset
- Granted only on the base of conservative business plans
- Supported by the provision of financial covenants in the relevant loan contract and
- Requiring a borrower participation with certain percentage of own funds of the total investment project costs
A Syndicated Loan is a type of financing provided by two or more lenders to a borrower or a related group of borrowers under a common set of legal documents. The group of lenders is known as the Syndicate. It therefore differs from the case where the borrower has several individual loan facilities from different banks, all of which are governed by separate loan agreements (bilateral).
Syndicated loans are originated and structured by one or more banks known as Mandated Lead Arrangers (MLA). The loan is then sold to investors by the Book runner(s). Lenders in the Syndicate are required to undertake their own due diligence. They may not legally rely on the due diligence carried out by the MLA(s), and have no recourse to the MLA(s).
The following terms are applicable with respect to such loans
- Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA): one or more financial institution responsible for initiating and
- structuring the transaction, negotiating the legal documentation between the borrower and lenders and the primary distribution of the credit facility.
- Bookrunner(s): Financial institutions responsible for executing and managing the sell down /
- Syndication process.
- Participants: banks and/or institutional investors that take a share of the risk in a syndicated
- loan, regardless of whether such participation occurs through a legal assignment or risk participation;
- Syndicate: comprises all lenders which have taken a share of the risk in a syndicated loan;
- Syndication: the distribution of risk among potential investors
- General Syndication: involves the process of syndicating on a best efforts basis or an underwritten basis. It ends with the signing of the Syndication Agreements by the borrower and participating lenders (including MLAs and Underwriter(s),
- Secondary sell down: the process of selling part of the loan once the primary syndication has been completed and allocations have been made to participants
Elements of a Syndicated Loan
- Credit Approved Underwriting Amount: portion of the syndicated loan that UCG is willing to underwrite. It comprises the sum of the Credit Approved Final Take and the Syndication Amount (as defined below).
- Credit Approved Final Take: the amount UCG accepts to take and hold on its own books.
- Syndication Amount: represents the amount of the syndicated loan UCG wishes to sell down in the primary market. It is equal to Credit Approved Underwriting Amount less the Credit Approved Final Take.
Qualified investments in energy efficiency investments that contribute to the improvement of the energy performance of buildings and industrial sectors, which are consistent with at least one of the following criteria:
- ESR (Energy Saving Ratio) equal to or greater than 30% in the buildings sector, measured on an annual basis, with the same elements
- ESR equal to or greater than 20% in all other cases, measured on an annual basis, with the same elements
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reducing greenhouse gas emissions measured in equivalent tons of CO2 is equal to or greater than 20%, measured on an annual basis with the same elements
- If the current national minimum requirements are stricter than above, than national requirements should be applied