SRT on $2 Billion Portfolio Draws Investors to African Deal

Private investors are lining up for a capital-relief deal designed to help channel more funds into development projects in Africa.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is structuring a synthetic risk transfer on an underlying $2 billion portfolio of private sector loans, Nana Spio-Garbrah, client solutions manager at the AfDB, said in an interview. The transaction, which marks AfDB’s biggest to date, is expected to free up over $1 billion for new loans across Africa to help alleviate poverty and protect the environment, she said.