New Trustee for Trustee for US$100 Million Turkish Cat Bond

New Trustee for Trustee for US$100 Million Turkish Cat Bond

BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has been appointed trustee, paying agent, account bank and custodian for a US$100 million Turkish cat bond transaction designed to protect insurers against the risks of potential earthquakes.

The bonds were issued by Bosphorus Ltd., a Bermuda-based special purpose reinsurer created by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP), the originator of the transaction. Eureko Sigorta A.S. (Eureko Sigorta) is the institution administrator of the bonds and acts on behalf of TCIP to provide day-to-day administrative services. Cat bonds are risk-linked securities that transfer a specified set of risks associated with hurricanes or earthquakes from an insurer or a nation state, to investors.

Can Ak?n Caglar, CEO of Eureko Sigorta and board member of TCIP, commented, “TCIP is pleased with how the capital markets received the Turkey earthquake cat bond issuance. We, as TCIP, are proud to be the sponsor of such a successful transaction.”

Suha Cele, Executive Board Member of Eureko Sigorta, added, “Our previous bond Bosphorus 1 Re was the first cat bond covering Turkish perils and a real success story. We are delighted to see that this second bond was also well received by the capital markets. In view of the constantly growing portfolio of TCIP, our cooperation with the capital markets will continue in the near future which will enable TCIP to diversify its reinsurance buying and utilise its multi-year capacity programme at stable prices.”

The global cat bond market continues to grow. Over the last 10 years the amount of cat bonds outstanding has increased from about $6 billion to $23 billion. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of corporate trust services to the insurance-linked securities market.

“TCIP’s innovative use of the capital markets illustrates the continuing growth of the insurance-linked securities market,” said Paul Traynor, head of insurance services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BNY Mellon. “The combination of insurers working with the capital markets, governments and technology experts can provide much-needed protection in vulnerable areas of the world.”

BNY Mellon opened an office in Istanbul in 1986 and has been servicing Turkish clients since the early 1900s. BNY Mellon offers a range of solutions to the Turkish market including treasury services, corporate trust, depository receipts, syndicated loans, global markets and trade finance; and closely follows emerging opportunities in investment servicing and investment management in the Turkish capital markets.