Mena syndicated loans top $25bn in Q1: Bloomberg DUBAI, 5 hours, 22 minutes ago Syndicated loans in the Mena region picked-up significantly after the start of the pandemic, with issuance volume increasing by almost 150% from $8.7 billion to $25.3 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, said Bloomberg in a new report. HSBC managed to secure first place, after coming in at second place in Q1 2020 and 2019 in the role of bookrunner, and managing to beat First Abu Dhabi bank under the same role by a margin of nearly $40 million, according to the latest EMEA Capital Markets Tables, representing the top arrangers, bookrunners and advisors across various deals including syndicated loans, bonds, equity and M&A transactions in the first quarter 2021.