* Looking to sell assets to state to pay back debt
* IIB asks to extend defaulted notes for 1 year
* Has $1 bln in debt to central bank due January 2011
MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - The fate of Russia’s defaulted International Industrial Bank (IIB) hinges on whether its tycoon owner succeeds in selling major shipyards to the state to cover $1.5 billion of debt owed to the central bank and bondholders, analysts and fund managers said on Thursday.
IIB, controlled by well-connected member of parliament, Sergei Pugachev, this week became the country’s first private bank to default on an external bond in more than a decade. [ID:nLDE6660AS]
“The main question is can the bank survive? Will it receive any help (from the state) and will its shareholder earn enough by selling assets to meet all its obligations?,” Anatoly Polun at Fleming Family and Partners Asset Management said.
So far the state has only been willing to pay up to 25 billion roubles for Pugachev’s shipbuildng assets -- a quarter of what he is seeking.
Although Russia has previously bailed out banks it has repeatedly said a financial institution should be of systemic importance to win state support. IIB has no retail deposits and its business has been largely linked with Pugachev’s industrial empire.
Pugachev has agreed to sell stakes in major shipyards to the state to help the bank to restructure its 32 billion roubles ($1 billion) of debt owed to the central bank and is seeking $600 million in loans from state-controlled VTB VTBR.MM. [ID:nLDE665100]
“Until IIB repays its debt to the central bank it will live. After it pays, the regulator may take a tough line towards the bank,” said Ekaterina Sidorova, analyst at Troika Dialog.
If the central bank had not rescheduled the debt to January 2011, IIB could have had its banking licence revoked.
The bank with a total Tier 1 capital of 49.7 billion roubles ($1.61 billion) as of Sept. 30 2009 had a capital adequacy ratio of 27.3 percent, according to the memorandum to its Eurobonds.
IIB has roughly $450 million worth of outstanding Eurobonds. So far it has asked holders to extend the maturity of the defaulted 2010 eurobond by one year and has offered to pay interest. But it has not said anything regarding the rest of the debt. ($1=30.96 roubles) ($1=.7939 euros) (Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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