‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year

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‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year

Baker McKenzie won Finance Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards for representing project manager Oceans Finance Company in structuring and implementing the government of Ecuador’s $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and providing $300m for the Galápagos Islands – the largest marine conservation debt conversion to date.

LB spoke with partners Matthew Cox and James Tanner (pictured, middle) to learn more about their experience working on this landmark deal, the challenges they encountered, and what it meant to win Finance Team of the Year.

Continue reading “‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year”

Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction

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Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction

Even amid a stellar agenda at Legal Business’ Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit 2023 last November, CMS’ session – Shams and charades: Lessons learned from abusive litigation against banks – made shockwaves around the auditorium of the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London’s Westminster.

Indeed, it’s not often that a panel discussion elicits gasps of astonishment from delegates, but that’s exactly what happened when CMS’ finance disputes partners Tom Dane and Vanessa Whitman (pictured) sat down with Neil Kitchener KC of One Essex Court to discuss their experience representing Allied Irish Banks in the curious case of Kallakis v AIB. Continue reading “Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction”

Greenberg expands finance team in the City with Weil hire

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Greenberg expands finance team in the City with Weil hire

Greenberg Traurig announced today (27 November) that Luke Lado has joined the firm as a shareholder, bolstering its banking and finance practice in London.

He joins from Weil, where he spent two years as counsel, following five years at Latham & Watkins as a senior associate. His legal career began at Clifford Chance, where he started as a trainee and spent six years. Lado has also completed secondments to Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse. Continue reading “Greenberg expands finance team in the City with Weil hire”

Q&A with Investec: Banking for law firm partners in times of change

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Q&A with Investec: Banking for law firm partners in times of change

Making partner is a huge step up for any lawyer and it’s one that can have a major impact on your earning profile. Here, Private Banker Emily Bernstein and Financial Planning Lead Simon Bashorun from Investec talk about the unique challenges they could help you overcome.

Continue reading “Q&A with Investec: Banking for law firm partners in times of change”

The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless

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The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless

Ahmed Badr did not want to be a lawyer. A self-professed ‘huge geek’ at school, he was never happier than when sat a computer doing some programming or web design. ‘You would never find me playing football,’ he reflects.

Initially, Badr studied medicine, which he admits ‘was more of a family thing than a me thing’. His dad was a doctor, his mum was a nurse, which led a young Badr to feel compelled to the same fate. But he soon he realised he had no interest in it, and opted to do a business degree instead. Continue reading “The Client profile: Ahmed Badr, GoCardless”

The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP

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The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP

Legal Business (LB): Describe your career before your current role with TP ICAP and the company today.

Philip Price (PP): I qualified as a solicitor back in 1990 and then held a series of roles in investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds. I joined Tullett Prebon in 2015, which merged with ICAP to form TP ICAP in 2017. The most significant M&A milestone since then has been our acquisition of Liquidnet, an electronic trading platform for asset management institutions which was acquired in October last year. Continue reading “The Client profile: Philip Price, TP ICAP”

Sponsored briefing: Measures taken by the regulatory authorities in the banking sector regarding the Covid-19 outbreak

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Sponsored briefing: Measures taken by the regulatory authorities in the banking sector regarding the Covid-19 outbreak

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (the BRSA), the Central Bank of Republic of Turkey (the CBRT) and the Banks’ Association of Turkey (the BAT) have swiftly taken several measures after the declaration of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Turkey on 11 March 2020 in order to mitigate the outbreak’s impact on the financial markets and soften expected disruptions in commercial activities that may be caused by Covid-19. Such measures are set forth by the relevant regulators in order to provide flexibility to financial institutions (the FIs) to ensure (i) financial stability of the FIs and (ii) meet FIs customers’ needs such as facilitating cash flow of individuals and SMEs which are likely to be the most affected by this outbreak and ultimately to mitigate the macroeconomic effects and risks arising from Covid-19 in financial markets.

Firstly, the BRSA, in its press release dated 16 March 2020, indicated that the business continuity plans prepared routinely by banks in accordance with the Guide on Management of Operational Risks with the aim of continuity of FIs’ activities and limitation of losses which arise from severe business interruptions are re-examined by the BRSA and in this regard all necessary measures are taken. This measure has been taken by the BRSA within the framework of prudent supervision approach. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Measures taken by the regulatory authorities in the banking sector regarding the Covid-19 outbreak”

Financial Regulation – Increased focus on culture raises question: is everything OK?

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Financial Regulation – Increased focus on culture raises question: is everything OK?

Our second one-day summit dedicated to banking disputes and regulatory actions returned in February with a host of sponsors, speakers and more than 150 guests in central London. Backed by a string of top names in contentious banking work, including headline sponsor White & Case, as well as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Boies Schiller Flexner, One Essex Court and Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF), the event was guaranteed a heavyweight line-up.

There was no mistaking the core theme for the day, which White & Case banking disputes chief John Reynolds set out in his opening remarks. Arguing that cultural issues sat at the heart of the global financial crisis over a decade ago, Reynolds gave a jaded assessment of the progress since, despite the string of post-crisis reforms, like the Senior Managers Regime, ringfencing and legislation on bonuses. Continue reading “Financial Regulation – Increased focus on culture raises question: is everything OK?”