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Turkish Bank Postpones $300 Million Bond Sale Meeting on Unrest

Turkish Bank Postpones $300 Million Bond Sale Meeting on Unrest

(Bloomberg) -- Sekerbank TAS, an Istanbul-based lender owned by its employee pension fund and Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, postponed investor meetings for a proposed bond sale after a coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The bank had been scheduled to start investor meetings on Sunday in Asia, Europe and the Middle East for a sale of as much as $300 million. It will now contact investors at the appropriate time to reschedule the meetings, according to an e-mailed statement Sunday from bankers with knowledge of the deal.

Turkey’s lira plunged the most against the dollar in eight years on Friday as tanks rolled through the streets of Ankara and Istanbul, while warplanes and helicopters circled overhead. Trading in stocks and bonds had already halted for the day and is scheduled to resume on Monday. The takeover attempt started on Friday night by elements within the military and was quashed the following day.

Turkish Bank Postpones $300 Million Bond Sale Meeting on Unrest

"Clearly the attempted coup in Turkey will make investors and other market participants more wary of participating in Turkish fixed income paper, at least until we get some clarity and the political situation stabilizes," said Chavan Bhogaita, head of markets strategy at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Turkey’s credit-default swap, which investors use to speculate on a borrower’s ability to repay debt and hedge against losses, rose basis points to 224.7 basis points. 

--With assistance from Constantine Courcoulas To contact the reporter on this story: Archana Narayanan in Dubai at anarayanan16@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Samuel Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, Dale Crofts, Dana El Baltaji