Milbank LLP has advised Attica Bank SA (“Attica bank”), the major Greek non-systemic lender, in the sale of a junior note in the principal amount of €339,375,000, issued (together with a senior-tranched note) by a Luxembourg SPV in consideration for Attica bank’s securitised portfolio of non-performing loans (“NPLs”) of approximately €700 million.
The transaction consisted of i) a sale and purchase agreement entered into by Attica bank and PIMCO (acting through a Luxembourg based fund); ii) the drafting of a servicing agreement to be entered into by Attica bank and QQuant Master Servicer SA, a Greek company licensed to manage non-performing exposures by the Bank of Greece; and iii) a series of amendments to the existing securitisation documentation, including, among other, re-tranching of the existing senior and junior notes and issuance of a mezzanine note to comply with European accounting de-recognition regulations.
The transaction is a vote of confidence in the Greek NPLs market and is expected to boost Attica bank’s Tier I capital holdings and confidence in the Greek banking system as a whole.
The Milbank team was led by London Global Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets Practice partner Apostolos Gkoutzinis and Alternative Investments Practice partners James Warbey and John Goldfinch, and London Global Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets Practice associate Iakovos Anagnostopoulos and AIP associates Jennifer Ellis and Azeem Sulemanji.
