Mexico: Cemex has completed the refinancing of a bank loan agreement, paying off the remnants of what was originally a US$15bn debt refinancing at the height of the 2009 global crisis, according to Dow Jones.

Cemex said that it paid ahead of time the remaining US$1.94bn of a 2012 accord, using funds from 17 financial institutions that joined others in a refinancing deal reached about a year ago. The amount owed under the new credit agreement now stands at around US$3.79bn, including Euro620m (US$681m) and the rest in US Dollars.

"We have now consolidated our syndicated bank debt in a single agreement under improved conditions that better reflect our financial metrics. We are pleased with the interest shown by the bank market in this transaction and the continued support of our lenders," said CFO José Antonio González. With the latest refinancing, Cemex's only significant debt payments in the next two years are US$352m in convertible notes due in March 2016 and a US$373m principal payment in September 2017 on the existing bank loan agreement.

Cemex refinanced around US$15bn in bank debt during the 2009 global crisis, when the company's earnings fell and put payment of its heavy debt load at risk. In 2012, with about half of the amount left to pay, Cemex rescheduled around US$6bn and has since carried out further refinancings to lower the cost and extend the maturity of its debt. Cemex's total debt at the end of June 2015 stood at US$15.9bn, down from US$17.1bn a year earlier.