Bank of China contributes to a $400 million USD syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility to SITA for general corporate purposes

Project narrative

In July 2022, a syndicate of nine banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — signed a $400 million USD syndicated sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques SCRL (SITA) — a Switzerland-based multinational information technology company serving the aviation industry — for general corporate and refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of three years. It was linked to environmental Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) evaluated by external auditors annually, with a bonus or malus on the interest margin depending on the borrower's performance; the KPIs included significant reduction targets relating to Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The proceeds of this RCF were to be used for the borrower's general business needs and supersede (refinance) its previous bilateral committed lines. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC), Barclays, Credit Suisse AG, J.P. Morgan, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), UniCredit AG, and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). SoCGen and CIC served as joint coordinators and bookrunners of the loan. SocGen served as ESG Coordinator and Facility Agent. CIC served as Documentation Agent. Barclays, Credit Suisse, and J.P. Morgan served as mandated lead arrangers. BOC, LBBW, and UniCredit served as lead arrangers. BBVA served as arranger. This loan was oversubscribed in syndication, with four new lenders in addition to the borrower's existing five banking partners.