Woori Bank borrows US$300 mln from abroad

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- Woori Bank, South Korea's third-largest lender, said Monday it has introduced US$300 million in loans from two foreign banks aimed at helping small and medium enterprises.

The state-owned lender said it has secured a two-year loan of $200 million from
JP Morgan Chase & Co. that carries an interest rate of 4.75 percentage points
over the London Interbank Offered Rate, and a one-year loan from Deutsche Bank AG
that has a spread of 3.79 percentage points.
The money will be used to extend loans to smaller companies and to repay maturing
debts, it said.
"The introduction of the loans will help quell worries over Woori Bank's February
decision not to redeem callable subordinated bonds," it said.
In mid-February, the bank opted not to exercise a call option on its $400 million
foreign-currency subordinated bonds that will mature in 2014, citing adverse
market conditions. The move sparked concerns about the lender's dollar liquidity
and overseas funding capacity.