NEW YORK — Ford Motor Co. has obtained commitments from enough banks to extend the maturity of at least 90 percent of $5.35 billion of revolving loans for one year, a person close to the financing said.

The automaker has been in discussions with its lenders this month about a one-year extension of its $3.35 billion, three-year main corporate revolving credit facility and its $2 billion, three-year supplemental revolving credit facility.

JP Morgan leads the deal, according to thee people close to the transaction.

Ford is seeking to address loan maturities for the first time since downgrades in March removed its last investment-grade rating. The move is expected to test banks’ willingness to lend to a household name in an industry that has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

More lenders could agree to extend before the transaction closes on July 27. The company is looking to complete the extension ahead of its earnings call on July 30, a second person said.

“They want to be prepared so they can say something good,” the second person said. “That they were able to extend the liquidity by another year.”

To incentivize banks to agree to the extension, Ford offered to repay the $3.35 billion three-year main corporate revolver it borrowed in March as part of a larger $15.4 billion draw-down under its credit facility, the two people said.

The company is expected to use cash on its balance sheet to repay the $3.35 billion, three-year loan on July 27 after the amendment and extension closes, two people familiar with the transaction said.

As of April 9, Ford had cash of $34.6 billion, including the revolving credit draw-downs, and $8 billion in bond issuances, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

“We typically don’t comment on rumor or speculation,” said a Ford spokesperson. A JP Morgan spokesperson declined to comment.

Both the $3.35 billion three-year main corporate revolving credit facility and the $2 billion three-year supplemental revolving credit facility come due on April 30, 2022, according to SEC filings. The loans will be extended to 2023, two people close to the transaction said.

The company is offering an all-in spread of 225 basis points over Libor, split between a drawn spread of 175 basis points and an undrawn fee of 50 basis points for the main corporate and supplemental revolving credit facilities that are extended, two sources said.

All lenders who agree to the extension will receive a 40 basis-point fee on the amount extended.

Lenders who choose not to extend will remain in the existing loans at a current all-in spread of 175 basis points over Libor, split between a drawn spread of 147.5 basis points and an undrawn fee of 27.5 basis points for the main corporate and supplemental revolving credit facilities.

The company is leaving unchanged its fully funded $1.5 billion supplemental term loan that matures on Dec. 31, 2022, and the $10.05 billion five-year corporate revolving credit facility due April 30, 2024.

“It’s good. Given that they are not in an easy sector,” the first person close to the transaction said. “It’s a good outcome.”

The fees Ford’s lenders received for its $8 billion in bond issuances in April may have helped them get more comfortable with the extension. The perception the US government supported the automaker via the Federal Reserve’s corporate bond purchasing program may have been another positive, the source said.

COVID-19 challenges

The company first reached out to its JP Morgan-led bank group in February to refinance $15.4 billion in revolving credits but in March decided to draw down on the facilities and postponed its refinancing plans as market conditions deteriorated, two banking sources said at the time.

The company said borrowings would be used to “offset the temporary working capital impacts of the coronavirus-related production shutdowns and to preserve Ford’s financial flexibility,” according to a March 19 press release.

Ford reported a 33 percent drop in U.S. sales in the second quarter tied to shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders due to the coronavirus.