Banco Regional preps to join Paraguay bond parade

Paraguayan lender Banco Regional is set to be the latest borrower from the country to sell an international bond. The bank is due to meet investors next week for a bond with a size of up to $300m and a tenor of up to 5-years. Citi and Deutsche Bank are arranging the meetings. Moody’s, which has given the senior unsecured deal an expected Ba2 rating, says the corporate lender has an established business model but operates in a highly competitive environment. The deal comes as Paraguayan firms gradually make their mark as international borrowers. Rivals BBVA Paraguay and Banco Continental, as well as Telefonica Celular del Paraguay (Telecel) and the sovereign have debuted in the dollar bond market in recent years. Banco Regional chief executive Raul Vera Bogado told LatinFinance last year that it was considering a bond sale in 2014, depending on market conditions. Funding officials at the bank could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Headquartered in Encarnacion, Banco Regional is Paraguay’s second-largest bank, Moody’s said. It has a 17.2% share of the loan market and is 40% owned by Dutch agricultural lender Rabobank.