Leading global law firm Mayer Brown has advised Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (VakifBank), a Turkish bank, on the establishment of its $3 billion MTN programme. This is the first Medium Term Note (MTN) programme set up by a Turkish issuer. The programme has been listed on the Irish Stock Exchange’s regulated market but permits the issuer to issue both listed and unlisted series of notes.
An initial issuance under the programme was made in April 2013 for $600 million of 5 year notes, which notes were offered in a 144A/Reg S distribution. The programme permits the issuer to issue senior, unsecured debt in any currency and with any tenor, with interest that is either fixed, floating or zero-coupon and in offerings both underwritten and private.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as the arranger for the MTN programme.
Mayer Brown has also advised VakifBank on its inaugural $500m Eurobond offering in June 2012, which was the first senior unsecured bond offering from a deposit-taking state bank in Turkey, and its more recent Tier II offerings in the 144A/Reg S market.
Jim Patti, Banking & Finance partner, said: “This is a really exciting time for Turkish issuers as their increasing access to the capital markets opens up new possibilities, including the creation of MTN platforms. While the benefits of such a program will vary issuer by issuer, the MTN platform can provide enhanced efficiency for issuing bespoke private placements as well as facilitate the larger 144A/Reg S offerings. We’re delighted to have advised the issuer on this landmark transaction.”
The Mayer Brown team was jointly led by Banking & Finance partners James Taylor (London) and Jim Patti (Chicago) with assistance from senior associate Amandeep Uppal (London) and Tax associate Mike Loquercio (Chicago).
