Official: Russia’s VTB position on Mechel debt irrational

VERONA, Italy, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- Russia’s second lender VTB’s position that the debt of metals producer Mechel should be unified is not really rational, a member of the company’s board of directors Alexander Shokhin told reporters on Thursday.

Mechel earlier agreed to restructure of U.S. $5.1 billion out of its $6.2 billion debt, including about $1 billion of debts to VTB. In September, First Deputy CEO of the bank Yury Solovyov said that VTB and other creditors are in negotiations to standardize loan agreements with Mechel in terms of the maturity, amortization and coupon payment.

“Sberbank seemed to be the toughest creditor, but it turned out that some details have been left unsettled with VTB, while as far as I understand, these are minor issues,” Shokhin said.

“These minor issues can prolong the process of debt settlement because if something is changed in the conditions which have been agreed upon with Sberbank and Gazprombank and VTB wants to get something, the other banks will ask for it too, and this is, conventionally speaking, a triple concession.

“The behavior of VTB is, to say frankly, not quite rational. Or, the rationality may hide in some other things which we do not see,” Shokhin said.

He said it is unlikely that VTB would want Mechel to default.

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