Bloomberg reported that global commodity trader Glencore Xstrata Plc refinanced its credit lines with $15.3 billion of syndicated loans.

Accoording to Bloomberg, the financing replaces $17.3 billion of loans signed last June after its takeover of Xstrata Plc and backs its trading operations.

Bloomberg said the deal was arranged by BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup, ING Groep NV and UniCredit SpA. A group of 69 banks provided the debt, which comprises an $8.7 billion one-year loan and a $6.6 billion five-year credit line.

Bloomberg noted that investment-grade borrowers in Europe paid an average margin of 63 basis points more than benchmark rates on credit lines this year, the lowest since 2007.

To read the full Bloomberg article, click here.