PIF expands $15bn credit facility to 23 banks

Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed

• Replacement for 2021 facility
• Six more banks added
• Credit available for three years

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has renewed a $15 billion credit facility with 23 global and regional banks for up to five years.  

Lower government oil revenues have put pressure on PIF’s funding of the country’s vast development projects, estimated to be worth $1.25 trillion.

The sovereign wealth fund has $978 billion assets under management, according to the most recent calculation by Global SWF. 

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PIF said in a statement it had expanded the group of financial institutions who can access the money to 23. The revolving facility was launched in 2021 with 17 banks, which PIF never formally named.  

They were thought to include BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Citi, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, SMBC, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered. 

The new credit facility is for three years but with an option to extend for a further two years, PIF said. Revolving loans can be drawn, repaid and drawn again during the lending period. 

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“The financing reflects our strong credit rating as well as robust demand from PIF’s relationship banks and financial institutions,” PIF said, citing a Moody’s rating of A1 with a positive outlook and A+ with a stable outlook by Fitch. 

PIF said the facility was an example of its diverse funding sources. It launched a $2 billion seven-year Islamic sukuk this year and is planning to issue bonds in pounds sterling. 

This month, it also signed six memoranda of understanding worth up to $50 billion with Chinese financial institutions for “encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity”, though it gave no more details. 

PIF has also trimmed its foreign investments for a new focus on funding Saudi projects and increasing its number of subsidiaries.