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Rand Merchant Bank: Focus on Africa

03 February 2012

The South African Bank is determined to become a strong lending presence in Africa.

Read more: Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) South African Greg McKenzie mezzanine debt South African Airways (SAA) Crane Aircraft Partners Automatic leasing company Ethiopian Airlines turboprop

Raising debt in Africa is not the easiest task. A few top-tier carriers have established relationships allowing them renewed access to debt, but smaller carriers often have a limited supply.

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) is a South African bank focusing on lending to African carriers. In addition to 15 years’ experience in aircraft finance, RMB also benefits from a thorough knowledge of Africa.

“I think we understand better than many of the international banks the jurisdictional issues and the political situation that arise from dealing in Africa,” says Greg McKenzie, structured asset finance, investment banking, RMB. “Our focus is on the African continent and our strategy is to be the dominant banking group in Africa.”

Aviation falls under the bank’s structured asset finance group, which also includes rail, shipping and mining. Of the seven people on the team, five of them focus on aviation.

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