Kazakhs protected their daughter from creditors

Ukrainian BTA Bank is not threatened with a change of shareholders due to the debts of its owner, the Kazakh BTA Bank. The court prohibited his creditors from alienating assets, since $165.4 million in debts will be returned as part of the restructuring program. However, lawyers believe that freezing assets in Ukraine may be beneficial to the nationalized Kazakh BTA Bank in its conflict with the bank’s former owner Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Creditors of the Kazakh BTA Bank will not be able to lay claim to its Ukrainian subsidiary. Yesterday, the Kazakh institution reported that the debt restructuring process, which began in the Specialized Economic Court of Almaty on May 8, was recognized in Ukraine. We are talking about the restructuring of debts totaling $165.4 million, within the framework of which regulations for working with creditors were approved. In addition, no later than September 27, the bank must be renamed into the NBRK Monetary Operations Accounting Department. In Ukraine, the decision of the Kazakh court was recognized by the decision of the Solomensky District Court of Kyiv dated August 31. This document suspended the execution by a Kazakh bank in Ukraine of the claims of the institution’s creditors for financial obligations, the execution of court decisions (including arbitration and arbitration) on obligations subject to restructuring, and the foreclosure of the bank’s property.

Creditors are prohibited from collecting any debts. “This was done to protect the assets of a Kazakh bank in Ukraine - 50% of the Ukrainian BTA Bank. According to the laws of Kazakhstan, the restructuring is carried out by the court, and its plan is agreed upon with creditors. Therefore, it was necessary to confirm this decision in Ukraine,” the Ilyashev law firm told Kommersant and partners" (legal support of the case). - Now the funds will be returned only as part of the restructuring program. Further plans for the Ukrainian bank have not yet been agreed upon. However, it is known that there are no plans to sell the bank within the next year." According to the NBU, the Kazakh BTA Bank owns 49.98% of the Ukrainian subsidiary. The institution did not respond to Kommersant's request.

Restructuring of BTA Bank's debts began in 2009 after the nationalization of the institution by the government of Kazakhstan. After this, the bank was written off and restructured its debts for $16.6 billion. “The restructuring of a certain part of the financial debt carried out by BTA Bank represents a change in the conditions for securities issued by the bank as part of the restructuring completed in 2010. Negotiations are currently ongoing with the creditors’ committee on agreement on restructuring parameters,” Kommersant was told at the Kazakh bank. The second stage of restructuring should begin in the near future; on September 27, its plan will be approved in Astana. According to the Ilyashev and Partners company, among the creditors of BTA Bank there was only one Ukrainian - Ukrsotsbank. “To date, the debt has been repaid, and we have no claims against BTA Bank,” the press service of Ukrsotsbank told Kommersant.

Lawyers believe that the judicial moratorium can be used in the conflict between the former owner of the Kazakh BTA Bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, and the authorities of Kazakhstan. “Everyone knows about the long-term legal disputes regarding the shares of the Ukrainian BTA Bank, initiated by the Kazakh BTA Bank, controlled by the government of Kazakhstan, in which the defendants were four Ukrainian legal entities close to Mukhtar Ablyazov. It seems that in reality the legal wars continue, and the previously losing side made “Knight’s move”: I received a decision in Kazakhstan that blocks or levels the possibility of executing decisions that were or may be made in favor of the enemy,” says Anna Tishchenko, adviser in the dispute resolution practice of the Integrites law firm.

In the event of the alienation of a Ukrainian asset, BTA Bank’s creditors would receive little money for it, since transactions in the banking market take place at a price of 0.5-1 capital. “The cost of institutions in our region ranges from 0.5-2 capital. It largely depends on the profitability of the institution and on the current level of capital, since after proper reserving for the loan portfolio it can change significantly,” says Greg, Chairman of the Board of Platinum Bank Krasnov.—The real price of a Ukrainian bank is 0.5-1.2 capital.” For 50% of the Ukrainian BTA Bank, creditors of a Kazakh institution could gain 375-900 million UAH ($46.3-111.1 million). However, even without judicial restrictions, a quick change of bank ownership is unlikely. “The transfer of bank shares requires confirmation from two regulators - the Antimonopoly Committee and the National Bank. This difficult procedure can take up to a year, depending on the work of the lawyers,” says Greg Krasnov.

Elena Gubar

Newspaper "Kommersant Ukraine" No. 145 dated September 20, 2012, p. 5

Authors:

Elena Gubar

Themes:

Banking system

BTA Bank will not be repaid for debts