MARF registers a new bond issue by UCI

MARF, BME’s Fixed Income market, today registered a new 82 million-euro Contingent Convertible Bond (COCO) issue by UCI, the holding company of the UCI Group and a 50%-50% joint-venture by Banco Santander and BNP Paribas. The objective of this bond issue – which has been privately placed among the financial institution’s shareholders - is to strengthen the Group’s equity, anticipate the future regulatory capital requirements for specialized credit institutions (EFCs) and to diversify its financing sources.

Deloitte Financial Advisory has acted as UCI’s Registered Advisor with MARF, while law firm Uría Menéndez Abogados has provided legal advice to the issuer in relation to this transaction.

The main company within the UCI Group is Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios (EFC), a financial firm established in 1988 specialising in mortgage financing. Since its beginnings, its activity has developed in collaboration with professionals from the real estate sector. Over the last few years the firm has experienced strong growth on the internet channel through its hipotecas.com brand. The UCI Group is a pioneer in sustainable mortgage financing and a pilot firm in Spain for the EeMAP (Energy Efficient Mortgage) initiative of the EMF (European Mortgage Federation). UCI carries out its mortgage activity mainly in Spain and Portugal, where it operates through 34 agencies and has more than 700 employees.

The volume of new mortgage loans granted by UCI Group amounted to 709 million euros in 2018, up 32% from the previous year.