Successful opt-in of Raiffeisenbank a.s. mortgage covered bonds

The opt-in was of most importance for Raiffeisenbank a.s. as it allows it to maintain a single cover pool regulated by the same regulation for mortgage covered bonds issued under its legacy English law governed mortgage covered bond programme and recently established German law governed mortgage covered bond programme.

The process was particularly complex as the functional interplay between the Czech, English and German law aspects had to be found and secured throughout the process and various parties, including the trustee and the tabulation agent, had to be involved.

Following the single combined meeting of the mortgage covered bondholders in which they consented to the opt-in, Raiffeisenbank a.s. issued mortgage covered bonds under its international German law mortgage covered bonds programme that was originally established in November 2020 in close cooperation with Allen & Overy.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr Maroš Hrnčiar, Head of Asset and Liability Management at Raiffeisenbank a.s., said: “Opt-in of legacy covered bond portfolio into the new regulatory framework simplified our cover pool management processes, brought benefits from new regulation to our investors and enabled us to issue a new tranche of covered bonds, all thanks to customized solution, reliable advice, and professional legal work of highly experienced A&O team.”.

The transaction was led by a Prague-based team consisting of partner Petr Vybíral, associate Tomáš Kafka and junior lawyer Josef Pavlíček. English law aspects of the opt-in process were handled by partner Luke Lewis and associate Calum Roberts. Partner Stefan Henkelmann and counsel Jens Nollmann were responsible for German law advice in relation to the issuance of mortgage covered bonds.