Page 22 - bneMagazine March 2023 oil discount

22 I Companies & Markets bne March 2023
The borrowers have long said now that the banks lured them into the mortgages by not highlighting the currency risk enough and using a number of so-called abusive clauses, for example in calculating their CHF-PLN spread.
Thousands of Poles have taken their banks to court, looking to annul the loans or clear the loan contracts of abusive clauses – with courts tending to side with the claimants.
The banks responded with counter-claims, which Collins’ opinion has just made more difficult to pursue. They appear likely to be all but impossible, should the CJEU’s ruling be in line with the opinion.
However, some observers said that since the matter is ultimately up to the courts, it may be years before there is an established line of legal practice with regard to FX loans.
Moody’s places quake-hit Iskenderun Port operator’s eurobonds on review for downgrade
Akin Nazli in Belgrade
Moody's Investors Service has placed the eurobonds sold by Limak Iskenderun Uluslararasi Liman Isletmeciligi (LimakPort) on review for a downgrade, the ratings agency said on February 13.
Moody’s review for a downgrade reflects the uncertainty around the damage caused to the port's infrastructure caused by the huge February 6 earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and the timeline for resuming operations at the port.
LimakPort has a B/Negative rating, five notches below investment grade, from Fitch Ratings and a B3/RFD, six notches below investment grade, from Moody’s. LimakPort’s ratings are in line with Turkey’s sovereign ratings.
In 2011, LimakPort was granted a 36-year concession for Iskenderun Port.
In 2012, Limak Holding sold a 20% stake in LimakPort to InfraMed, a fund launched by the European Investment Bank (EIB), Italy's development finance institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP), Morocco’s state-owned Caisse de Depot et de Gestion (CDG), France’s Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) and Egypt-based investment bank EFG Hermes.
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu dubs the Erdogan-regime-affiliated leading group of Turkish contractors the “Gang of five”.
The five he refers to are Cengiz Holding (owned by Mehmet Cengiz), Limak Holding, Kolin Insaat, Mapa Group (owned
by MNG Group) and Kalyon Holding.
There are actually more than five Erdogan-affiliated contractors but Kilicdaroglu’s “Gang of five” term has become a common idiom in Turkey to refer to all such “businesspeople.”
In May 2021, during the buoyant times of COVID-19-related unprecedented monetary easing around the world, LimakPort
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sold $360mn of 15-year eurobonds (XS2339789732) with a 9.50% coupon.
In 2021, LimakPort’s revenues amounted to $80mn.
The fire that broke out at Iskenderun port as a consequence of the earthquakes was extinguished as of February 10 but cooling down operations were continuing.
The full extent of the damage to the port's infrastructure
is currently unknown. It will require detailed assessments. The port's operations have been suspended, although RoRo vessels have been calling at the port for humanitarian purposes.
The port's service area includes the main industrial centres in the southeast of Turkey, including Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Adana and Osmaniye. All of these locations have been severely affected by the earthquakes.
“The full extent of the damage to
the port's infrastructure is currently unknown. It will require detailed assessments”
There are a huge number of casualties and the region's infrastructure has been badly damaged. There are material uncertainties regarding the potential long-term impact of the earthquakes on the local economy and infrastructure linking customers' production facilities with the port.
It is currently unknown what mitigation could be provided by any insurance claims.
LimakPort maintains insurance including for property