NIB participates in Maxima’s inaugural commercial paper issuance

NIB has invested in Lithuania’s leading food retailer’s Maxima Grupė inaugural commercial paper (CP) issuance. This is NIB’s first participation in the Baltic CP market, and the first issuance of such securities in the Baltic region.

On 5 March, NIB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the central banks of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the joint effort to develop a regional market for CP. The transaction is the first under this framework.

The nominal value of the transaction amounts to EUR 40 million. The notes were subscribed by institutional investors represented from the Nordic-Baltic region, as well as United Kingdom and other European countries. Demand for the securities exceeded EUR 100 million.

„The successful completion of the offering underlines the company’s high credit quality and intention to diversify our funding sources. Continuous cooperation with such large international players like European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Nordic Investment Bank and others and their trust in our company is very important for us”, says Mantas Kuncaitis, the CEO and the Chairman of the Board of Maxima Grupė.

Maxima is the largest food retail group in the Baltics as well as the largest employer in Lithuania. In 2019, NIB has granted a loan for Maxima Grupė’s store refurbishment programme in the Baltic States.

NIB has been investing in the Baltics since 1994. To date, the Bank’s total investment there stands at more than EUR 4 billion through more than 150 projects.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.