Mexico Leads LatAm Syndicated Loans

LatAm syndicated loan volume reached $18.7bn during 1H, up 22% on the $15.3bn recorded during the comparable 2010 period, according to Dealogic. That remains below the market’s last high-water mark in 2007 when the region saw s $30bn in loans for H1. Mexico topped the nationality ranking with $7.9bn and accounted for 42% of the region’s total volume in 1H 2011. Brazil followed closely in second place with $7.1bn and a 38% share. The spike in Mexican volumes can partly be attributed to telecom America Movil’s $4.1bn refinancing facility, which was signed on May 12 and was the largest LatAm corporate loan since July 2007. The average tenor of LatAm syndicated loans totaled five years in 1H 2011, on par with 1H 2010. Average pricing fell to Libor+174bp from 355bp during the same 2010 period. As of the end of 2Q 2011, the LatAm syndicated loan market had total outstanding debt of $203.7bn, with $14.9bn due to mature during the remainder of 2011 and $22.4bn by the end of 2012.