Bank of China (UK) contributes to a 2009 $2 billion USD syndicated revolving credit facility to ABB Ltd. for general corporate purposes (Linked to Record ID#101006, #101036, #101037, #101038, and #101039)

Project narrative

On October 7, 2009, a syndicate of 29 banks — including the London Branch of the Bank of China (BOC) / Bank of China (UK) Limited and ICBC (London) Limited / Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into an $2 billion USD syndicated multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with ABB Limited — a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical equipment corporation incorporated in Switzerland headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, and Zürich, Switzerland and the holding company for the entire ABB Group — for general corporate and refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of three years and a final maturity date in 2012 and was unsecured. The interest rates on drawings under the RCF would be based on LIBOR, STIBOR or EURIBOR, depending on the currency, plus a margin of 100 basis points (bps). The RCF carried commitment fees payable on unused portions equal to 0.4% per annum. This RCF contained cross-default clauses whereby an event of default would occur if ABB were to default on indebtedness or at or above a specified threshold. The RCF had utilization fees, payable on drawings, equal to 0.25% per annum on drawing over one-third but less than or equal to two-thirds of the total facility, or 0.50% per annum on drawings over the two-thirds of the total RCF, and no utilization fees are payable on drawings less than one-third of the total RCF. The proceeds were to be used to replace a $2 billion USD RCF existing facility signed in 2005 and due in July 2010 and for general corporate purposes, namely as a back-stop facility to commercial paper programs if ABB were to issue commercial paper. ABB Limited served as the guarantor of the RCF. No amount was drawn under this RCF as of December 31, 2009. Record ID#101005 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#101006 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to the two Chinese state-owned banks, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), Banc of America Securities Limited, Banco Santander, S.A., Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas S.A., Calyon, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Credit Suisse AG, Deutsche Bank AG, DNB Nor Bank ASA, Goldman Sachs International, Handelsbanken Capital Markets of Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ), HSBC Bank plc, ING Bank N.V., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., J.P.Morgan plc, Merchant Banking, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ) (SEB), Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., Nomura Bank International plc, Nordea Bank AB (publ), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), Standard Chartered Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), UBS AG, Unicredit Luxembourg S.A., and Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). These lenders all served as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners. UBS and SEB are both known to have committed $69 million USD to the loan syndicate. This loan was initially launched at $1.5 billion USD and then increased to $2 billion USD after oversubscription during syndication. Then, on November 16, 2010, the banking syndicate — now including only 28 banks, but still including the London Branch of BOC and ICBC (London) — entered into an amendment agreement with ABB Limited for the $2 billion USD syndicated RCF; in this amendment, the lenders extended the maturity period of the loan by three years for a new final maturity date of November 2015 (a new maturity period of six years), raised the margin of the interest rate to between 0.425% to 0.625%, adjusted the commitment fee to 35% of the margin, and adjusted the utilization fees to 0.15% for drawing over one-third but less than or equal to two-thirds of the RCF and to 0.3% of drawing greater than two-thirds. Record ID#101036 captures BOC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Record ID#101037 captures ICBC's contribution to the debt rescheduling. Nomura Bank International was the only bank not to extend its role in the $2 billion USD, although several existing banks shifted to different entities; UniCredit Bank AG, UBS Limited, the London Branch of Credit Suisse, and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) (formerly Calyon). The contributions of SEB and UBS are both known to have risen to $71 million USD, and the contributions of the remaining lenders were adjusted to account for the departure of Nomura. Record ID#101038 captures BOC's increased commitment. Record ID#101039 captures ICBC's increased commitment. No amount was drawn under this RCF as of December 31, 2010. No amount was drawn under this RCF as of December 31, 2011. No amount was drawn under this RCF as of December 31, 2012. No amounts were outstanding under this RCF as December 31, 2013. On May 23, 2014, a syndicate of 27 banks — including the London Branch of BOC and ICBC (London) plc — signed a $2 billion USD multi-currency RCF agreement with with ABB Finance B.V. — a Netherlands-incorporated and Amsterdam-headquartered wholly owned subsidiary of ABB Limited — and ABB Treasury Center (USA), Inc. — a Delaware, United States-incorporated and Wilton, Connecticut-headquartered wholly owned finance vehicle of ABB Limited — for general corporate purposes. ABB Limited served as a guarantor for this RCF, which replaced the existing $2 billion USD RCF maturing in 2015. Record ID#101050 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#101051 captures ICBC (London) plc's contribution.