International Bank of Azerbaijan creditors notch London legal victory

Court of Appeal backs holdouts in debt restructuring, while investors eye potential for jurisdictional arbitrage.

Holdouts in 2017’s debt restructuring by the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) scored a legal victory on December 18 when a judgement forcing the lender to recognize their claims was upheld by the Court of Appeal in London.

The decision comes more than 18 months after Azerbaijan’s largest lender surprised markets by announcing plans to restructure $3.3 billion worth of senior debt. The restructuring was vehemently opposed by creditors as local policymakers had repeatedly promised to resolve capital issues at the state-owned bank without bailing in bondholders.

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