Project Description:
A new Law on Financial Restructuring (LFR) was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament (“Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine”) on 14 June 2016 aimed at facilitating the systemic restructuring of non-performing loans (NPL) within the banking sector.
Under the LFR, the voluntary restructuring process will be administered by a technical secretariat (Secretariat), managed by the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine (NABU) and tasked with processing and coordination of cases. The work of the Secretariat will be subject to the supervision of an oversight board (the Oversight Board), a coordination body tasked with organisation and conduct of the Kiev Approach. The Oversight Board will supervise the work of an arbitration committee (the Arbitration Committee), a body responsible for appointing arbitrators to assist with the resolution of specific disputes among debtors and creditors arising under the LFR.
The Secretariat will assist with administration of LFR cases and will be run by the NABU. It will be responsible for a number of tasks including:
• management of all administrative and procedural issues related to the LFR procedure, including registering applications for LFR and supporting the work of the Arbitration Committee in respect of any arbitral proceedings;
• preparation and submission of progress and performance reports to the Oversight Board regarding conduct of LFR cases;
• organisation and dissemination of information to parties participating in LFR proceedings; and
• development of recommendations concerning the LFR proceedings for participating parties.
Since the LFR procedure is entirely new and there is a lack of out-of-court restructuring culture in Ukraine, the Secretariat would benefit from external expert guidance from the outset on the new procedure and capacity-building for its members.
The LFR provides for creation of the Arbitration Committee and relies on the use of binding arbitration under The Law of Ukraine "On International Commercial Arbitration". This law is well-established in Ukraine and arbitral awards are recognized by Ukrainian courts. The debtor consents to arbitration of any disputes in its restructuring application and the banks may submit to arbitration where they sign a ‘Framework Agreement’ or ‘Restructuring Plan’ (each as defined in the LFR). The Arbitration Committee manages the dispute resolution process and is supported by qualified arbitrators.
The purpose of this Project is to assist with the establishment of the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee and capacity building.
This will involve:
1) providing guidance on all matters related to the establishment of the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee at the outset of the project;
2) Assistance with drafting an operation plan for both organisations and any template documents required to initiate a procedure before the Secretariat or the Arbitration Committee;
3) providing assistance to both organisations on a regular basis. This assistance shall include but it is not limited to guidance for the NABU on an effective financing structure for the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee to be implemented following completion of the EBRD project;
4) Drafting of restructuring principles in line with international standards and best practices;
5) Developing and implementing training for representatives of the Secretariat and, if needed, the Arbitration Committee to ensure effective implementation of the framework.
Assignment Description
The Bank now intends to engage an individual expert (the Consultant) to conduct the above activities aiming at supporting the NABU to implement the LFR (the Assignment).
The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following services:
Work closely with the NABU and provide guidance on all matters related to the establishment of the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee at the outset of the project. The Consultant shall be required to draft an operation plan for both organisations and any template documents required to initiate a procedure before the Secretariat or the Arbitration Committee. After an initial period (of two to four weeks), the Consultant shall be required to provide assistance to both organisations on a regular basis for a period of at least one year. This assistance shall include guidance for the NABU on an effective financing structure for the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee to be implemented following completion of the EBRD project.
Activity 2: Drafting restructuring guidelines
The Consultant shall be required to draft restructuring guidelines for management of financial restructuring cases by the Secretariat in line with international standards and best practices as instructed by the EBRD operation leader.
Activity 3: Development of training programme
The Consultant shall develop a three-day module for Secretariat representatives on selected topics relevant to the role of the Secretariat under the LFR. Training will guide Secretariat representatives on the purpose and scope of financial restructuring and aim to increase the capacity of the Secretariat to conduct certain tasks, notably reporting on the outcomes of financial restructuring to the Oversight Board.
Activity 4: Delivery of training
The Consultant shall deliver training to Secretariat members in accordance with the training programme developed by the Consultant under Activity 3. The Consultant shall also contribute, as requested, to any training of the Arbitration Committee members in restructuring-related matters.
Activity 5: Participation in stakeholder meetings
The Consultant shall organise and actively participate in any meetings regarding formation of the Secretariat and in any strategically important meetings organised by the Secretariat with a view to providing guidance on the organisation and responsibilities of the Secretariat under the LFR
The Consultant shall participate in the organisation and delivery of any public events (in collaboration with other experts where necessary) organised by the EBRD and the NABU to raise awareness of the LFR. The conference will be an opportunity to encourage discussion among key players and outreach to relevant parties within the private sector.
Activity 7: Monitoring and Reporting
The Consultant shall monitor the work of the Secretariat and the Arbitration Committee as applicable and report on their activities to the EBRD on a quarterly basis.
Status of Selection Process: Interested individual experts or firms proposing an individual expert are hereby invited to submit Expressions of Interest.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start at the end of August 2016 and has an estimated overall duration of 14 months.
Maximum Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 74,840.00 (exclusive of VAT).
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the Consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source: The Assignment is expected to be funded by the EBRD-Ukraine Stabilisation and Sustainable Growth Multi-Donor Account. Contracting will be subject to availability of funding.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile: Individual services are required. The Consultant will be an individual with previous extensive local and international experience in legal and financial matters related to multi-creditor restructuring (including out-of-court restructurings ).
The Consultant should have preferably 10 years of previous professional experience in restructuring in an international environment and practical experience in managing/coordinating voluntary multi-creditor restructuring cases;
The Consultant shall be fluent in English. Working knowledge of Ukrainian will be an advantage.
Submission Requirements:
Interested individual experts or firms proposing an individual expert are hereby invited to submit Expressions of Interest. In order to determine the qualifications and competence of experts seeking to be selected, experts or the firms proposing an expert must submit an Expression of Interest containing the following information:
- Cover letter including full contact details, inclusive of address of the individual (or company), phone and fax numbers, and email address;
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae;
- Details of the expert's detailing qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided, main activities, objectives;
-Completed Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:
http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc
Failure to provide the duly completed and signed Consultant Declaration may result in the applicant being disqualified from the selection process.
The Expression of Interest should not exceed 25 pages (excluding CVs, Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet).
In case firms wish to submit more than one CV, they must register each CV with a unique e-mail address through e-Selection. Should this requirement not be met the EBRD reserves the right to consider any Expression of Interest containing more than one CV non-responsive.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through e-Selection, in PDF format or electronic formats compatible with Microsoft Office 2003 not later than the deadline mentioned above. DO NOT send Expressions of Interest to the EBRD's contact person.
The complete Expression of Interest (including CVs, Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet) should be submitted, in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date referred to above. The expression of interest shall be one file (pdf). The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size is exceeded (4MB), the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.
Bank Contact Person:
Marina Matushina
Advisor, Technical Co-operation
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 207 338 6577
e-mail: MatushiM@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
Notes:
1. The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Consultants will not be asked to submit a proposal. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected from a shortlist and be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
2. The shortlist criteria are:
(a) Expert’s international and local experience in legal and financial matters related to multi-creditor restructurings - 50%
(d) Expert’s experience in restructuring in an international environment – 30%
(c) Expert’s practical experience in managing/coordinating voluntary multi-creditor restructuring cases – 20%
