Baker McKenzie and its Turkish arm, the Esin Attorney Partnership, have advised Akbank T.A.S., one of Turkey's largest banks, on the offering of USD 500 million Basel III compliant Tier 2 Notes under Akbank's USD 3.5 billion Global Medium Term Note Program. This represents the first Tier 2 Notes issue in Turkey this year. The Notes have a fixed term of 10 years and an early call option at year 5.
London-based Baker McKenzie Partner Simon Porter said: "We were pleased to advise Akbank on this first Tier 2 issue of the year which confirms foreign institutional investors’ confidence in the Turkish capital markets and Turkish banks after a period of political and economic uncertainty. We are expecting to see increasing activity from domestic issuers in the Turkish capital markets."
Remarking on the high volume of requests for the issuance, Esin Attorney Partnership Capital Markets' Partner Muhsin Keskin stated: “The deal is a very good example of the resilience of the Turkish market and Turkish banks in the aftermath of July’s failed coup attempt, the rating downgrades, and the ensuing FX fluctuations. The deal is also indicative of foreign institutional investors’ unabated confidence in the Turkish capital markets."
The Baker McKenzie team was led in London by Porter, Partner Edward Bibko, and Of Counsel Simon Schiff, and in Istanbul by Partner Muhsin Keskin, Head of Capital Markets at the Esin Attorney Partnership. They were supported by Istanbul Associates Berk Cin and Erdi Yildirim and London Associate Adam Gardener.
