White & Case Advises Lenders on €334 Million Loan to Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank with MIGA Cover for Trade and COVID-related Projects

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the lenders on a €334 million commercial bank term loan to Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank with a guarantee from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, the proceeds of which will be used for trade finance and COVID-related purposes.

"This is a pioneering new product by MIGA," said White & Case partner Martin Menski, who led the Firm's deal team. "The MIGA guarantee provides protection against the risk of Non-Honoring of Financial Obligations by a Regional Development Bank, the first major deployment of this product in the African market. The MIGA cover enabled Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank to secure access to commercial bank financing on terms than would not otherwise have been available to it in current market circumstances.”

The syndicate of banks included Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank N.A., Citibank Europe plc., MUFG Securities EMEA plc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with Standard Chartered Bank acting as Global Coordinator and Facility Agent. 

Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank is a multilateral development financial institution operating in Eastern and Southern Africa. The loan will be used to roll out its structured trade finance program, including COVID-19 related trade finance, in its member states in Eastern and Southern Africa. 

The White & Case team included partners Martin Menski (Washington, DC) and Carina Radford (London), local partner Jennifer Stolp (Johannesburg) and associates Mark Andrews (London) and Andrea McKaiser-Walbrugh (Johannesburg).

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