2 - What is syndication?

[Woman 1] What's with the face? 
[Woman 2] Oh, sorry. I was concentrating. 
[Woman 1] Watching the bends in the road? 
[Woman 2] No, I was thinking about my syndicated loan. 
[Woman 1] You're part of a syndicate?
[Woman 2] No, it's called a syndicated loan because it involves a syndicate of banks. It's basically a group of banks and investors coming together to lend money to a company. 
[Woman 1] More than one bank for just one loan? 
[Woman 2] Yes, but it’s a very complex loan for a massive company wanting to expand its operations in other countries, for example. 
[Woman 1] So which company are we talking about? 
[Woman 2] I can’t tell you that, Marie. It's confidential, and there are people out there who could misuse this information. It's called bank secrecy. It's like medical confidential. 
[Woman 1] Right. The doctor-patient privilege. 
[Woman 2] Exactly. 
[Woman 1] So why a syndicate of banks? 
[Woman 2] When you start working in big amounts, you need safety in numbers. 
[Woman 1] How many? 
[Woman 2] It all depends on the projects. Anything from 2 to 10 banks. 
[Woman 1] And how do you get other banks on board? 
[Woman 2] So, you see, it’s part of the partnership you have with your client. Once we've got a clear idea of the type of loan we want, we work together to price the project according to: its economic and social value, the borrower's credit worthiness and development potential, and the level of interest the lending banks will earn. We want to make sure the syndication is a success as quickly as possible. The investing banks then decide if they want to participate in the financing and for what amount. Once we have the required amount on paper, we sign the contracts, and the adventure begins. 
[Woman 1] How much are we talking about?
[Woman 2] It can go into the billions.
[Woman 1] Wow, that's huge! And you do all that?
[Woman 2] Yep!
[Woman 1] Impressive. I get it now… You can't be the best at everything!
[Woman 2] I don't get it…