King & Wood Mallesons advised a direct bank in a novel capital raising.
The global firm acted for ME Bank on its $200m additional tier-1 (AT1) unrated capital notes offered via National Australia Bank and Westpac Institutional Bank.
This is only the third wholesale AT1 capital deal since the introduction of Basel III capital requirements. It is also the first wholesale AT1 to feature write-off only, rather than conversion, at the point of non-viability in Australia.
Partners Jo Dodd, Ian Paterson, and Darren McClafferty led the
KWM team. They were supported by senior associate Sylvester Urban, associate Charlene Soh, and solicitor Kendy Ding.
Dodd said they were pleased to assist ME Bank in the transaction and to have helped position the wholesale format AT1 issuance space as a viable fundraising option for banks.
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