VTB hopes to come to an agreement with Mechel on debt restructuring before summer

VTB, one of the largest creditors of Mechel, hopes to come to an agreement with owners of the metallurgical company on its debt restructuring before summer, CFO of the Bank Herbert Moos said on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Mechel is in a difficult financial situation because of the billions of dollars of debt, most of which falls on the three largest Russian banks - Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank. Mechel has long been in talks with creditors to restructure its debt, but it hasn’t succeeded in it.

In November, Sberbank’s head German Gref said that the bank was extremely dissatisfied with the situation in Mechel, didn’t understand the actions of the owner, and believed that it would lead to bankruptcy. Then Gref said that Sberbank would do everything to recover the debt.

"I think that we will find a compromise (on the debt restructuring). It is, unfortunately, a very bumpy ride ... I think that we will have to do till summer," - Moos said on Wednesday.