RMB picked as financial adviser for South Africa’s Land Bank
Creditors of the Land and Development Bank of South Africa picked Rand Merchant Bank as financial adviser after it missed a loan repayment that triggered a cross default on a SAR50 billion ($2.7 billion) bond program, according to sources.
The Johannesburg-based investment bank has been tasked with coming up with cash-flow projections for the development bank, which is the biggest lender to South African farmers.
Rand Merchant Bank - a unit of FirstRand Ltd - must also deliver a strategic plan for the state-owned company and assess its viability, the sources said.
The 108-year-old Land and Development Bank of South Africa, which supplies about 30% of loans in the agricultural industry, last month failed to make repayments on a revolving credit facility, triggering the default event on its bonds. It has since said it is seeking a one-year deferral of interest and capital payments.
