Volkswagen €20 billion syndicated bridge loan

Overview:

• Volkswagen agreed a €20 billion bridge loan through a syndicate of 13 banks to provide additional liquidity for covering the costs of its Co2 emissions scandal.
• Eight banks loaned the German automobile manufacturer €1.825 billion each, and another four supplied €1.08 billion each. 
• Citibank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, Societe Generale and Unicredit provided the larger tranches.
• BBVA, Banco Santander, Credit Agricole, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs provided the smaller tranches.
• US regulator The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the German corporation of violating law concerning car emissions in 2015.   
• A month or so after the EPA made its findings public, Volkswagen admitted cheating US emission tests.
• The scandal, and Volkswagen's acceptance of culpability, caused the value of the company's shares and bonds to fall sharply, and it resorted to raising bank debt to add cash reserves for fines and compensation. 

Ben Naylor - Regional editor