Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Ireland Syndicated Loan Volume at Annual Record High in 2015
By Lydia ter Riet
- Ireland syndicated loan volume has increased for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $25.1bn in 2015 YTD, up 46% from $17.2bn signed in full year 2014 and already the highest annual total on record. Activity however has dropped 21% yearon-year to 24 deals, from the record high of 30 deals signed in 2014 YTD, pushing the average deal size to $1.0bn in 2015 from $535m in 2014 YTD
- Conversely, Irish syndicated bond volume of $23.4bn in 2015 YTD has declined by 16% from $28.0bn in 2014 YTD, despite an increase in activity to 31 deals pricing so far this year compared to 25 bonds in the same period of 2014
- Ireland has entered the top 10 for European borrower nationalities for the first YTD period since 2002 (also 10th place), up from 13th place in 2014 YTD and the highest position for the country since 1999 YTD (ninth place). Ireland’s share of the European loans market stands at a YTD record high of 3% in 2015 YTD
- Irish Construction sector borrowing stands at $10.7bn 2015 YTD. Volume is led by the $7.3bn three tranche investment grade loan signed by CRH on February 2, to support the $7.3bn acquisition of assets from Holcim and Lafarge. The deal is the largest Irish syndicated loan signed on record
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch leads the Ireland syndicated loan bookrunner ranking in 2015 YTD, with a 19.5% market share. JPMorgan and UBS follow with 18.6% and 15.0%, respectively