JSC BTA Bank (BTA), reportedly the second largest bank in Khazakstan, sought protection for its US-based assets through Chapter 15 last Thursday in New York’s Southern District.

The Chapter 15 filing in Manhattan appears to be part of Khazakstan’s own banking bailout for BTA.  In papers submitted to Bankruptcy Judge James Peck, BTA Chairman Anvar Saidenov represented, through BTA’s counsel, that between 2004 and 2007 BTA expanded rapidly with significant increases in its total assets and number of branches and cash offices.  This expansion was primarily funded through short- and medium-term bank borrowings and the issue of securities in the international capital markets.  Khazakstan’s credit-rating downgrade in late 2007 precluded BTA from refinancing its short-term credit lines, which in turn curtailed BTA’s ability to make new loans.

Beyond the Kazakh credit downgrades, BTA allegedly further suffered “significant losses” due to “fraudulent and ulawful transactions entered into by [BTA's] former management prior to February 2009.”

Before last February, the Republic of Kazakhstan and its Agency for Regulation and Supervision of Financial Markets and Financial Organizations (FMSA) had previously announced a proposal to recapitalize BTA as part of a broader plan to stabilize the country’s financial system. The plan involved JSC National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna (Samruk-Kazyna), Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, providing financial support to struggling financial institutions. At the same time, Samruk-Kazyna acquired a controlling 75.1 % of BTA’s total share capital. BTA also continued to down-size its operating activities in response to the deteriorating market and BTA’s financial condition.

 BTA’s recapitalization triggered “change-of-ownership” clauses and demands for repayment under some of its lines of credit from foreign lenders.  These and other, continuing regulatory problems inside Khazakstan ultimately led to a preliminary restructuring plan in mid-2009.

At the end of August 2009, the Kazakh government enacted banking regulatory legislation which put into place, among other things, an insolvency regime to deal with the restructuring of financial institutions.  BTA sought protection under this new legislation less than 45 days after its enactment, thereby obtaining a stay of all relevant claims of BTA’s creditors and protection of BTA’s property from execution and attachment until completion of the restructuring.

BTA’s restructuing – presently contemplated within the third quarter of 2010 – presently contemplates that creditors of the Bank, including Samruk-Kazyna and certain related parties (excluding depositors and certain government agencies funding special loan programs) will receive a mixture of cash, senior debt, subordinated debt, other forms of debt, equity and so-called “recovery notes” in consideration for the restructuring of their claims.  Payments on the “recovery notes” will be funded by cash recoveries on any provisioned assets, litigation recoveries, and deferred tax recoveries.

2009 is shaping up to be an extraordinary year for business bankruptcy.  Headlines and hoopla aside, however, it hasn’t been all about domestic Chapter 11 work.  The following brief summaries (drawn from news reports and from the national dockets) highlight some of the more newsworthy cross-border matters of the past 60 days:

- WC Wood – Guelph, Ontario-based W.C. Wood Ltd., manufacturer of freezers, fridges and commercial dehumidifiers, sought Chapter 15 recognition in Delaware along with its affiliates concurrently with the companies’ application for protection under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.  The US filing was commenced to further the Canadian reorganization, and to extend the automatic stay to protect officers and directors of the companies.

- Kumkang Valve – Kumkang Valve Co. Ltd. sought Chapter 15 recognition in Houston to protect its US -based assets while it pursued a “revival proceeding” in the District Bankruptcy Court for Daegu, South Korea, where it is headquartered. To do so, the manufacturer of trunnion mount ball valves for the oil and gas industry had to overcome objections lodged by Enterprise Products Operating LLC, who had previously filed a US District Court suit alleging that Kumkang knowingly supplied faulty valves to Enterprise when it was constructing facilities in Wyoming and Colorado.  Bankruptcy Judge Wesley Steen is presiding over the US proceeding.

- Gandi Innovations – Canadian grand-format inkjet manufacturer Gandi Innovations, which operates under the brand name Gandinnovations, obtained recognition from Bankruptcy Judge Leif Clark in San Antonio, TX very shortly after its entry into Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings.  The company sought to protect US assets and stay litigation then pending in Bexar County, TX while it prosecuted a plan of arrangement in Toronto.

- Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank – Iceland’s Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank hf is seeking recognition of its Reykjavík-based restructuring efforts from New York Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber. Recognition would protect Straumur-Burdaras’ US-based assets, valued at $190 million.  The commercial bank’s Chapter 15 petition, filed June 2, follows that of three other Icelandic financial institutions – Glitnir Banki hf, Kaupthing Bank hf and Landsbanki Islands hf – all of which sought similar protection in New York. Straumur-Burdaras’ recognition hearing is calendared for July 14.

- Fraser Papers – Toronto-based lumber, pulp and paper producer Fraser Papers Inc. and affiliates sought recognition in Delaware for their restructuring under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). According to papers filed in connection with the related June 18 petitions, the filing was commenced to further the effect of orders already entered under the CCAA and designed both to protect the companies’ US assets and to enjoin suits against officers and directors.

- Nanbu – Tokyo-based Nanbu Inc. has requested that US Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Faris of Honolulu grant recognition of its foreign bankruptcy proceeding currently pending in the Civil Affairs division of Tokyo District Court. Court papers reveal virtually nothing about the company or its Japanese proceeding, and note only that recognition was sought in the US so that the company’s foreign representative, Tsunehiro Sasanami, can take title to and convey certain timeshare properties located in Hawaii.  A hearing on the recognition request is calendared for July 13; however, under the Bankruptcy Court’s local rules, a recognition order may be entered without a formal hearing where there are no objections.