BASIS POINT-Macquarie seeks 6-month A$1.6bn loan extension

SYDNEY, April 24 (Reuters Basis Point) - Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is talking to banks about extending a A$1.6 billion ($1.5 billion) 364-day revolving loan by six months until May 2009 for a 50 basis point fee, sources said.

Most of the facility's 45 lenders are expected to roll over their existing commitments because of the attractive fee and the short time-frame of the extension.

The deal's 11 mandated lead arrangers are: ABN AMRO Bank AAH.AS, ANZ (ANZ.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Barclays Capital (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Dresdner Bank (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), HSBC, JP Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), nabCapital (NAB.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The credit currently pays 35 basis points over BBSY based on the borrower's A- and A2 ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, respectively.

The financing is part of a A$9 billion seven-tranche loan the borrower took last November to capitalise itself when it was established as a listed non-operating holding company to own the investment banking businesses and non-banking activities of Macquarie Bank Ltd.

Under the restructuring, Macquarie Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group and has continued to operate as a licensed Australian bank. (Reporting by Sharon Klyne)