The Yegin Ciftci Attorney Partnership and Clifford Chance have advised the IFC on its USD 150 million investment in covered bonds issued by Turkey’s Garanti Bank. The five-year maturity bond is backed by a portfolio of residential mortgages and is issued as part of Garanti Bank’s EUR 5 billion covered bonds program. Mayer Brown advised Garanti on the matter.
The program — which Clifford Chance describes as "Turkey’s first mortgage-covered bond in local currency to boost green mortgages" — was launched in 2015, and the firm describes it as "offering a diversified and innovative funding instrument in Turkish lira in a bid to help deepen capital markets and increase investor confidence." According to the IFC, Garanti Bank expects its green housing loans portfolio to be worth USD 100 million by the end of 2020.
The transaction was led by Yegin Ciftci Partner Mete Yegin, Senior Associate Sait Eryilmaz, Associate Aras Gorkem, and Trainee Basar Kirka, assisted by a Clifford Chance London team consisting of Partner Simeon Radcliff and Associate Samantha Loh.
