MNT-Halan closes $150m securitized bond issuance

By Edlyn Cardoza

MNT-Halan, Egypt’s leading FinTech player, recently announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tasaheel, has securitized US$ c.150 million of its loan book in the first issuance of a $600 million program with Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private sector bank. The proceeds will fuel the company’s accelerated growth across multiple lending business lines and MNT-Halan’s expansion into new verticals.

MNT-Halan is Egypt’s leading FinTech and largest non-bank lender to the unbanked and under-banked. The company’s digital ecosystem includes small business and consumer lending, payments, and e-commerce, all backed by the company’s proprietary technology – Neuron.

Over-subscribed by 2 times, the offering reflects the high quality, diversity, and granularity of the portfolio, consisting of 137,000 contracts and a robust cash pay-back ability. Participation by regional and local financial institutions included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank, Agricultural Bank of Egypt and the Housing and Development Bank.

The issuance, divided into four tranches, has been rated Prime 1 for the first three and A for the fourth by MERIS (Middle East Rating & Investor Service).

MNT-Halan CEO Mounir Nakhla commented on the issuance, “We are especially pleased with the confidence that investors have placed in our company. CIB’s role was instrumental. This transaction marks our first securitization and ensures our continued growth as we expect our loan book to exceed US $2 billion over the next couple of years. This will be driven by our digital strategy capitalizing on synergies and venturing into new verticals.”

Mennan Awadallah, Head of Debt Capital Markets at CIB, added, “This transaction underscores our commitment to promoting sustainable long-term growth for the bank, our customers, and all our stakeholders and demonstrates our support for our customers throughout their journeys. We started with Tasaheel with a US c.$5 million facility in 2016 and are proud to see how fast they have grown. We work to tie our own financial success to the economic advancement of communities throughout Egypt with the ultimate goal of driving financial inclusion. We are delighted to continue supporting a business that has solid economics and serves the needs of the unbanked.”

CIB served as financial advisor and general arranger of the transaction, with the National Bank of Egypt serving as co-financial advisor and underwriter. Arab Africa International Bank and NI Capital served as underwriters. Maatouk, Bassiouny and Hennawy served as legal advisors.