Thursday, May 10, 2012 -
Kazakhstan’s troubled BTA Bank said Thursday a financial court gave the green light and promised legal protection to its draft debt restructuring plan.
The decision taken by the Special Financial Court of Almaty on Tuesday "confirms the legitimacy of the restructuring process initiated by the bank and gives us a high degree of confidence in its successful outcome," BTA chairman Anvar Saidenov said in a statement posted on the firm’s web site.
BTA filed the plan to the court in the country’s financial capital Almaty on May 2 for authorization to commence restructuring of its debts.
“The court’s decision regarding the restructuring has immediate effect and accordingly the bank now has gained legal protection in relation to the restructuring process in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the statement said.
Following the go-ahead, the advisors to the Steering Committee will complete due diligence in step with the bank’s finalization of its business plan.
BTA and the Steering Committee and its advisors will begin negotiations in June on the commercial terms of the restructuring, the second by the lender since the 2009 global financial crisis.