Itau Preps Bank Meetings

Brazilian banking giant Itau is plotting a new $500m 3-year loan, with bank meetings scheduled on Monday in Asia and on June 29 in New York. Proceeds are going toward refinancing an existing $400m facility taken out in 2008 through leads BNP Paribas and Unicredit. That loan paid around Libor plus 95bp, but the borrower is not expected to achieve such tight pricing on this occasion. BNP Paribas, HSBC and Mizuho are acting as underwriters and global coordinators, though some other banks may also join at this level.