Credit Agricole – Corporate Investment Bank (CA-CIB) has closed successfully a new export credit facility for Air France in relation to the financing of the airline’s seventh A380 (msn 99, reg. F-HPJH).
The delivery took place on 2nd of May. CA-CIB arranged a French Lease combined with an ECA facility guaranteed by ECGD and Euler-Hermes. CA-CIB acted as overall arranger, lease arranger, sole equity provider, facility agent, security trustee, Co-Arranger and ECA lender. DekaBank and Helaba also acted as Co-Arrangers and ECA lenders.
CACIB, ECA lenders and ECAs were represented by Norton Rose Paris.
This transaction comes after CACIB already closed last December 2011 the first ever Airbus ECA for Air France for the A380 (msn 64), which was already combined with a French Lease structure. The two A380s are part of the exception to the ECA “home country” rule which remains in place.
Jose Abramovici, global head of aviation finance at CA-CIB, said: “We are very pleased to have closed, together with our partners DekaBank and Helaba- this highly structured financing for a second A380 with Air France which brings the airline the combined merits of ECA attractive margins and very competitive French Lease economics.”