Banking & Finance

 

Salans has one of the more international Global Banking & Finance practice groups. We do Banking and Finance work across our 22 offices from New York to Shanghai.  Our strong domestic expertise is incorporated into an integrated multinational team, experts in the latest Banking and Finance technology.  We list under “Our Services” the wide range of banking and finance capability we provide.

In addition, we also operate in a number of specialised markets.  These include:

• Advising international financial institutions and development banks, especially in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe.  In these jurisdictions we offer unmatched capability advising on the intricacies of developing legal systems;
• International real estate financing which is carried out in conjunction with our leading international Real Estate practice; and,
• Advising on consumer finance - our team works on everything from pre-paid and credit cards to automotive finance.

Our Approach

We represent - in almost equal proportion - both finance providers and users, thereby enabling us to be aware of issues arising at both ends of the negotiating table.

All of our banking and finance group lawyers are able to draft complex legal documents in fluent English, regardless of their native language.  Our capability extends to all areas of banking and finance.  In many we are at the cutting edge of developments, which we seek to maintain with a wide ranging internal training programme. We are frequently asked to assist in emerging jurisdictions with drafting and developing their legislative framework.

What Others Say

"The firm's Banking and Finance Department is widely recognised as being among the leaders in its practice area… It is at the forefront of the market in providing advice to businesses…”  Chambers & Partners (2009)

Our Services

Bank Lending

Salans specialises in acting for lenders and borrowers in connection with bank lending transactions, whether the finance is to be raised for projects, corporate acquisition, property acquisition, bank lending programmes, trade finance, asset acquisition, leasing arrangements, or for general working capital purposes.  Our strengths are acting in relation to English law financing agreements on cross-border financing transactions, coupled with local law security in our core jurisdictions.

Acquisition Finance

In the area of acquisition finance, our clients include a broad range of lenders, borrowers, financial institutions, venture capitalists, investors, and management teams.  We advise on transactions including acquisition finance, loans, tender offers, leveraged buy-outs, and refinancing.

Securities

We regularly advise clients in local and international securities markets, including issuers, institutional investors, investment bankers, broker dealers, fund sponsors and managers, investment advisers and transfer agents.  Our role is to assist our clients in raising, investing or placing capital, and achieving their business goals, at the same time ensuring compliance with often complex regulatory requirements.

Regulation

Because Salans advises clients on banking and investment banking regulations and supervision in all the jurisdictions in which we are present, we are well acquainted with the governmental and regulatory constraints on lenders and investors in all transactions handled. 

Trade & Commodities Finance

We advise in the field of oil and gas and energy products, acting for banks as lenders and for oil, gas and energy companies as borrowers or sponsors in a variety of financing techniques, including pre-export finance and pre-payment transactions.

Derivatives

Our lawyers are frequently asked to advise on equity and credit derivatives, interest rates and currency swaps, caps, collars, floors, futures, options, and other derivate financial products, including unwinds.  We also advise on emissions trading under the Kyoto Agreement.  We are familiar with the standard form agreements for these products, and we have also created agreements tailor-made for specific transactions to which such forms do not readily apply.

Asset Finance

We advise our clients on a wide variety of mechanisms to provide asset finance, including equipment leasing, hire purchase and conditional sale, invoice discounting and factoring, all types of dealer funding, and straightforward loan and security.  We have a broad asset finance practice, which involves us in industries, ranging from automotive, oil and gas, IT and real estate.

Project Finance

We provide legal advice relating to project finance in many industrial sectors in various different areas of the world.  A particular feature is our strength in project finance in emerging markets and in relation to Public Finance Initiatives.  We are very familiar with the requirements of export credit agencies across the jurisdictions in which we operate, as well as tax, foreign exchange and regulatory issues as applicable to individual projects.

Capital Markets

With offices from New York to Shanghai, we are well placed to assist clients from many jurisdictions who wish to raise finance through a listing on the world’s main financial markets such New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Hong Kong.  We have recently represented the first foreign entity to be listed on NewConnect, the new Warsaw alternative stock exchange.

Treasury

We advise on the utilisation of debt capital markets for the purpose of fund raising using a range of different structures, including medium term note programmes, commercial paper programmes, private placements, and securitisations, as well as everyday fixed rate issues.

Consumer Finance

Consumer credit is a highly specialised and technical area of law. The legislative framework for consumer finance is changing rapidly in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate.  Salans has been recognised for many years as amongst the leaders in this field and we play an active role in regulatory reform.  Our deep knowledge of the area is of direct benefit to our clients. 

Cards and Payments

We have specialist knowledge in the niche financial services sector of cards and payments. The work we undertake covers:

• pre-paid and credit cards,
• government benefits outsourcing,
• multi-national commercial card deals,
• payment processing,
• account aggregation,
• merchant acquiring,
• card issuing,
• national gift card closed loop networks,
• full white label card solutions,
• cross merchant incentive card, and
• payroll schemes. 

We match the global requirements of this market with the local knowledge essential with the advent of new EU regulation under the Payment Services Directive and SEPA.

Real Estate Finance

One of Salans’ core practice areas is the offering of legal services for the financing of cross-border real estate, acquisitions, financings, and developments.  We represent a broad range of leading cross border institutional investors, private equity houses, opportunity funds, international developers, banks, and other financial institutions and capital providers, as well as large multi-national corporations, in connection with their real estate finance requirements. 

Mortgage Finance

Salans has significant experience in the mortgage finance arena with both consumer and commercial mortgages.  This experience extends to drafting standard and transaction-specific documents and drafting procedures and ancillary documentation in the highly regulated consumer mortgage business. We work in the first and second mortgage market, consumer and commercial, prime and sub-prime.

Reorganisation, Restructuring, and Insolvency

Our banking and finance group includes a specialist team of lawyers covering reorganisation, restructuring and insolvency matters. Clients throughout the world regularly engage us to assist them in the restructuring of problematic leveraged buyouts and corporate credits.  Our lawyers work closely with financiers and senior officers of corporations to deal with collateral realisation issues, consolidation issues, preference and fraudulent transfer challenges, and other issues that relate to creditor’s rights.  We also advise on the details of reorganisation plans, restructuring documents and inter-creditor regulation.

Distressed Situations

We have in place a Distressed Situations Team, which is a multi-disciplinary team covering all legal aspects that may be relevant to finding a solution and opportunity for clients confronting the challenges of the economic climate.  This team includes specialist lawyers in all areas of corporate and finance activity, including experts in litigation, arbitration, and mediation.