Corpbanca May Look to Grow

Chile’s Corpbanca is looking to close this month a $150m 2-year loan which may be upsized depending on demand, say bankers. Pricing is on a ratings grid, out of the box at 95bp for BBB+. For an A minus rating, the spread falls to 87.5bp, rising to 112.5bp for BBB, 137.5bp on BBB minus, say bankers. “The spread is a little tight, but they are paying nice fees,” says a banker, who sees a 75bp fee for the biggest ticket as attractive. The average life is roughly 1.75 years and there may be room to grow towards $200m. With BNP, Citi, Commerzbank, Standard Chartered and Wachovia already apparently on board, the deal is understood to be seeking only minor retail participation. European banks are heard not participating owing to a sharp recent rise in their cost of funds, while Asian institutions are said to be plugging the gap.