Zepos & Yannopoulos, working alongside Shearman Sterling, has acted as Greek legal counsel to Attica Bank SA, a Greek medium size bank, on the securitization of non-performing loans and future receivables from the EUR 1.3 billion sale of real estate. The portfolio was sold to a Luxembourg SPV against issuance of EUR 525 million senior notes and EUR 806.2 million junior notes. All the notes were initially subscribed by Attica Bank, which will also act as interim servicer of the portfolio.
Bahas, Grammatides & Partners announced that it "led and coordinated the team of legal advisors of Attica Bank SA on the transaction."
In parallel, Attica Bank entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Aldridge EDC Specialty Finance, the principal owner of a multinational investor in and manager of distressed assets, to sell the junior notes, as well as 80% of Thea Artemis SA, a subsidiary of Attica Bank that holds a license by the Bank of Greece to manage banking credit. Aldridge was advised by Jones Day, with the G. Spiliotopoulos law office providing local counsel.
Completion of the sale and purchase agreement is subject to approval by the Bank of Greece, following which Thea Artemis SA is expected to undertake the management of the securitized portfolio.
According to Zepos & Yannopoulos, "this milestone transaction involved the sale of receivables arising from a diversified portfolio of non-performing credit products and of future receivables arising from the sale and/or leasing of real estate that are the underlying assets of financial leasing receivables, also included in the portfolio."
The firm also reports that "the transaction is the first to combine the long-tested Greek securitization law framework with the recently introduced law on the licensing of banking credit managers; it steps up the creation of an efficient secondary market for non-performing loans in Greece and offers a seamless legal structure for future transactions."
The Zepos & Yannopoulos team was led by Partner Christina Papanikolopoulou, assisted by Associates Mary Nigritinou and Athina Palli. Tax advice was provided by Partner Daphne Cozonis and Senior Associate Katerina Vagia.
The Bahas, Grammatides & Partners team was led by Managing Partner Dimitris Emvalomenos and included Senior Associate Christos Gramatidis.
