PANAMA CITY, PANAMA (By Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 12.Sep.2025, Words: 366) — Bladex successfully priced its inaugural Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital offering in the international markets, raising $200mn.
The perpetual, non-cumulative instruments, with an initial call date set for 7 years, were priced at a 7.50% coupon and attracted significant interest from a broad and diversified base of global institutional investors. The transaction was more than 3x oversubscribed, reflecting robust market confidence in the bank.
This landmark transaction marks Bladex’s debut of a hybrid instrument in the capital markets, the company announced on 12 Sep. 2025 in an official statement.
Other highlights include:
— the issuance is designed to optimize the bank’s capital structure, in full compliance with current local regulations and the Basel III framework,
— proceeds will be used to further strengthen Bladex’s capital base, supporting future loan growth while maintaining capitalization levels comfortably above regulatory requirements,
— the transaction was jointly led by Bank of America Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC as global coordinators, with Jefferies acting as bookrunner,
— Bladex is rated BBB/Baa2/BBB (S&P/Moody’s/Fitch), and the AT1 securities are rated BB-/Ba2/BB-(S&P/Moody’s/Fitch)
— “This issuance represents a key milestone in Bladex’s transformation journey, broadening access to new investor pools and reinforcing its long-term growth strategy, while also strengthening the Bank’s capital position. A stronger capital base further supports our ability to finance trade flows and serve corporate clients across Latin America, while the robust investor demand and oversubscription reflect confidence in Bladex’s vision and our role as a trusted regional partner in trade finance,” said Bladex CEO Jorge Salas in the statement,
— “We are very pleased with the outcome of our inaugural AT1 issuance, which broadens our access to global capital markets and enhances our financial flexibility. The strong oversubscription allowed us to achieve highly competitive pricing while raising additional resources to prudently expand our loan portfolio and maintain robust capital and liquidity metrics. We would like to thank our Global Coordinators, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan, as well as Jefferies in its role as Bookrunner, for their highly professional execution,” said Bladex CFE Annette van Hoorde de Solis in the statement.
____________________
By Piero Stewart reporting from Panama City. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.