Cleary Gottlieb represented Crédit Agricole S.A. in a CAD 400 million Reg. S offering of deeply subordinated notes that will constitute Tier 1 capital for Crédit Agricole. The joint lead managers on the offering were Merrill Lynch Canada, Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets and the co-manager was Desjardins Securities, Inc. The notes have been listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Tier 1 transactions involve the issuance of securities with debt-like features, which constitute core capital under regulations that require banks to maintain minimum capital levels as a percentage of their risk-adjusted assets. This offering was the first Canadian dollar denominated Tier 1 transaction completed by Crédit Agricole.