Ecsponent secures R700m loan facility
The financial services group says the loan will cut funding costs and allow it to grow its lending unit
Small-cap financial services group Ecsponent says its R700m loan from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will reduce funding costs and boost profits. The company said on Monday it had secured the four-year loan facility, which would diversify its funding and support its lending business aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises in Southern Africa. To date, that business has been funded by Ecsponent’s preference share and domestic medium-term note programmes, as well as institutional funding. Ecsponent has raised about R1.6bn by issuing preference shares in SA since 2014. “The Afreximbank facility is expected to bolster the group’s results as the reduction in funding costs will translate directly into improved profitability, while also improving tax efficiency,” Ecsponent said in a statement. CEO Terence Gregory said the credit facility with Afreximbank is “an important step in our strategy of partnering with development financial institutions and access cheaper funding t...
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