Effective choice of court clauses (also known as jurisdiction clauses) are central to finance agreements. Reliable, certain process to enforce contractual obligations is essential for cross-border trade and finance...more
On June 29, 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s financial markets regulator, released a summary of its concerns over the market for sustainability-linked loans (SLLs). Responding to concerns that banks overstate...more
Background On 29 June 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a letter on the findings of its review of the sustainability-linked loans (“SLL”) market. SLLs aim to support sustainable economic activity...more
A distressed disposal (Distressed Disposal) under an LMA-based intercreditor agreement (ICA) is a powerful restructuring tool. It has the potential to significantly de-lever a business for the benefit of the “in the money”...more
On 23 February 2023, the Loan Market Association (LMA), the Loan Syndications & Trading Association (LSTA) and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) published updated versions of Green Loan Principles and Guidance,...more
On June 4, 2021, the Loan Market Association (LMA) published a recommended form of its reference rate selection agreement (the Selection Agreement), which has been updated following market feedback. The Selection Agreement...more
In February, Katten conducted a survey of 112 private credit industry professionals that showed how a large percentage of private equity investors and lenders in the private credit industry expect deal flow to increase in...more
On 5 March 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the administrator of LIBOR, ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) each made important announcements for parties to instruments or other contracts referencing LIBOR. ...more
On January 28, 2021, the UK Loan Market Association (LMA) published exposure drafts of two multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreements which incorporate, among others, backward-looking compounded risk-free rates...more
On November 23, 2020, the Loan Market Association (the “LMA”) announced the publication of several new and revised documents, with the purpose of helping market participants incorporate appropriate transition mechanisms into...more
Our Finance Group explains why the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate remains an essential task amid COVID-19 and urges loan market participants not to wait on devising a transition plan. ...more
As with most sectors, sustainability is a buzzword in the loan market. The market has taken its first steps with the sustainability linked loan, which is now gaining in popularity. Sustainability linked loans (SLLs) are...more
UK COVID-19 Developments - HMRC updates its trading activities guidance - HMRC has updated its guidance at BIM48000 regarding how legislation and case law should be applied where a business makes changes to its...more
It’s time to face up to the fact that financial market participants will soon no longer be able to rely on LIBOR. No one can claim that this comes as a surprise. In 2014, in response to concerns about the reliability and...more
The Loan Market Association ("LMA"), Loan Syndication and Trading Association ("LSTA") and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association ("APLMA") have published new guidance on the key aspects of the Green Loan Principles ("GLP") and...more
Recent updates from the Bank of England, the New York Federal Reserve, and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and Bloomberg in connection with publication of IBOR fallback rate adjustments should be welcomed...more
In 2012, the Wheatley Review recommended reform rather than replacement of LIBOR, on the basis that a transition to a new benchmark would pose an unacceptably high risk of financial instability. Reform came in the form of a...more
Much has been written about the influence of US terms on European transactions and particularly the steady migration of US concepts into English law facilities agreements, resulting from the supply-demand imbalance in the...more
Following the announcement that LIBOR is to be replaced, the process of finding a suitable replacement is proving troublesome. Financial Institutions will no longer be required by the FCA to provide LIBOR rates after...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced in July 2017 that by the end of 2021, it would stop compelling banks to contribute LIBOR quotes. This announcement, considered by many as the death sentence for LIBOR, has...more
The London Interbank Overnight Rate (“LIBOR”) is an interest rate calculation that is used globally for purposes of debt capital market transactions including bond issuances, loans and derivatives. In particular, LIBOR...more
Those of us who regularly review debt facilities have probably noticed that the prospective (earliest) application date for FATCA withholding on "gross proceeds” from sales or other dispositions and "foreign passthru...more
On December 3, the Loan Market Association (“LMA“) published a paper on the impact of a no-deal Brexit scenario on lending to borrowers located in EU countries by UK lenders, and the wider negative impact on the EU economy....more
Six months have now passed since publication of the Dechert OnPoint, LIBOR – Where Are We Now?, and in that period progress on benchmark reform and the development of alternative risk-free-rates (RFRs) has gathered pace. At a...more
Despite the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, given London’s undiminished role as a centre for debt finance markets in the UK remain open for business with healthy levels of debt issuance occurring so far in 2018...more