India's Yes Bank files Supreme Court petition seeking review of AT-1 bond order
Nov 13 (Reuters) - India's Yes Bank YESB.NS on Friday said it has filed a petition in the country's apex court seeking a review of the court judgment that set aside the write-off of 84.15 billion rupees ($893.81 million) of its additional tier-1 bonds.
The move comes days after Axis Trustee Services, acting on behalf of the bondholders, filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court alleging the lender's failure to provide a "concrete roadmap" for restoring the bonds and implementing the court's judgment
Last month, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Yes Bank by upholding a Bombay High Court ruling setting aside the write-off of its AT-1 bonds.
Yes Bank, in which Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation now holds a 24% stake, was declared insolvent six years ago
New investors were brought in under a restructuring scheme, and its AT-1 bonds were written off
In its October order, the court said the bank's administrator had acted under the "erroneous impression" that he retained the power to write down the bonds after the restructuring scheme was finalised, ruling that the write-off was "impermissible"
Following that ruling, Reuters had reported that Yes Bank was unlikely to pay coupons due on the AT-1 bonds this year and planned to seek a review of the decision
AT-1 bonds are high-risk debt instruments offering higher returns but can be written off or converted into equity when a bank comes under financial stress
($1 = 94.1475 Indian rupees)