Norton Rose Fulbright advises Banco Nacional de Panamá in debut US$1 billion bond issuance

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright's New York office recently advised client Banco Nacional de Panamá (Banconal) in its record-breaking 10-year, US$1 billion Rule 144A/Regulation S bond issuance. The transaction is the largest ever by a Panamanian financial institution and Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs acted as initial purchasers.

Dozens of international investors participated in the transaction, which was many times oversubscribed and features the lowest-ever interest rate (2.5 percent) to be obtained by a Panamanian bank. Banconal will use the bond proceeds to diversify its overall resources and to improve its ability to obtain future long-term funds in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York partner George Baptista led the Norton Rose Fulbright deal team and was assisted by senior counsel Manny Rivera and associates Javier Felix and Eric Ramirez.