LONDON, Nov. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has acted as the tabulation and settlement agent on the $15 billion sovereign external commercial debt exchange by the Government of Ukraine. BNY Mellon has also been appointed trustee, principal paying agent, registrar and transfer agent on all nine new sovereign eurobonds and an innovative $3 billion GDP-linked securities' issuance by Ukraine.

The transaction is one of the largest commercial debt restructurings by an emerging markets' sovereign¹ and was executed in compliance with the conditions of the current financing arrangement between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund. In particular, the foreign commercial debt exchange allowed Ukraine to immediately write off approximately $3 billion of the nominal debt stock, delay principal amortisations until 2019 and extend the average life of debt in return for issuing additional securities that, between 2020 and 2040, may pay institutional investors a proportion of Ukraine's annual real GDP growth.

"BNY Mellon used its global resources to ensure that the complex commercial arrangement reached between Ukraine and its ad-hoc creditor committee could be timely and effectively implemented," said Dean Fletcher, head of Corporate Trust EMEA at BNY Mellon. "The mechanics of the restructuring involved holding meetings with bondholders on 14 different series of notes, processing nearly 4,000 individual voting instructions by our teams in EMEA and the US as well as arranging for the settlement of all new securities into the international clearing systems. Our comprehensive and well-balanced service offering allowed us to provide a single point of contact for performing all of these roles which was crucial for the successful implementation of this important and high-profile operation."

"The formal completion of the sovereign exchange forms part of a larger restructuring of Ukrainian external debt which will enable Ukraine to continue with economic reforms and receive further tranches of funding support from the IMF and other official multilateral creditors while it copes with severe geopolitical challenges, economic recession and resulting rapid currency depreciation," said Sergei Kotov, regional executive for Eastern Europe, Global Client Management at BNY Mellon. "This solution to Ukraine's funding gap over the next four years puts the country on a significantly more sustainable growth path and financing trajectory. BNY Mellon is at the forefront of these efforts, having recently acted in a similar capacity for a number of Ukrainian quasi-sovereign and privately-owned entities on their debt re-profiling exercises."

BNY Mellon collaborated closely with Lazard Freres and White & Case LLP, Ukraine's financial and legal advisors, respectively, to ensure the successful completion of Ukraine's sovereign debt exchange.

Notes to editors:

BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon is the premier provider of corporate trust services to the debt capital markets, providing customized and market-driven solutions to investors, bondholders and lenders. As of September 30, 2015, BNY Mellon Corporate Trust served as trustee and/or paying agent on more than 60,000 debt-related issues globally. The corporate trust business utilizes its global footprint and expertise to deliver a full range of issuer and related investor services including trustee, paying agency, fiduciary, escrow, and other financial services. The business administers a wide array of assets and types of programs to multinational corporations, financial institutions, governments and their agencies, and the banking, securities, and insurance industries.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Sept. 30, 2015, BNY Mellon had $28.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

This press release is issued by The Bank of New York Mellon to members of the financial press and media.
All information and figures source BNY Mellon unless otherwise stated as at September 30, 2015.
The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, registered in England and Wales with FC005522 and BR000818.
Branch office: One Canada Square, London E14 5AL. The Bank of New York Mellon is supervised and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
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Contact:          
Malcolm Borthwick 
BNY Mellon 
+44 (0) 20 7163 4109   
malcolm.borthwick@bnymellon.com

¹ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/wp12203.pdf

SOURCE BNY Mellon