RLPC-Russia's Sberbank to sign $1.2 bln loan Weds-banker

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, is expected to sign a $1.2 billion, three-year term loan on Wednesday, a banking source close to the deal said.

The deal attracted a handful of commitments in syndication, despite the credit crisis, the source added.

Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners are ABN AMRO Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe, UniCredit and WestLB.

The loan, which was not underwritten, pays a margin of 85 basis points (bps) over LIBOR, a significant premium on the 45 bps that Sberbank paid on its previous deal a $750 million, three-year loan arranged in December 2007.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

State-owned Sberbank carries a long-term rating of BBB+ from Fitch and a senior unsecured rating of A2 from Moody's. (Reporting by Christopher Mangham; Editing by Paul Bolding)