Turkey's Isbank investment-grade rating triggers deal

As previously reported, Isbank has become the first Turkish bank to garner an underlying investment-grade rating from Standard & Poor's in the public market (see ASR 10/25/04). Led by Standard Chartered, the $500 million transaction is wrapped 50/50 by MBIA and Ambac. The underlying rating reached a cusp 'BBB-'. The MBIA tranche has a seven-year final maturity and average life of 5.125 years. The Ambac slice has an eight-year final and 5.625-year average. Collateral is comprised of diversified payment rights (DPR), which essentially cover electronic money flows handled by the bank.