Contact Structured Finance

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A history of thinking ahead

We are the world’s oldest global law firm, but we are constantly reinventing ourselves.

In 2000, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was formed through the merger of the leading law firms Freshfields (Great Britain), Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund (Germany) and Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Löber (Germany-Austria). This unprecedented merger of equals brings together more than 270 years’ experience, dating back to 1840 in Germany and 1743 in Great Britain.

Description of Service

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s structured finance group advises in connection with securitisations of all asset classes relevant to the German market, namely loan claims (including secured loans, consumer loans and sale financing) and leasing or trade receivables. The structured finance group's advisory range includes both true sale and synthetic transactions, conduit financing transactions (including the structuring of conduits) financed through the short-term commercial paper market, as well as term deals financed through the bond market.

In the context of the financial crisis, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s securitization team was and is involved in major restructuring measures of securitization transactions and securities portfolios, as well as the asset protection schemes of bank balance sheets against risks from ABS portfolios.

The advisory capacity of our securitization team includes all legal and tax aspects of an ABS transaction, as well as advice on specificities arising from the nature of the assets to be securitized, and finally all aspects of German and international capital markets law on issuance and placement of securities.  Our clients in this area include banks arranging ABS transactions, trustees, swap counterparties, originators (e.g. lending banks or industrial companies) and rating agencies.

Banking and Finance Law / Bonds
JUVE Handbook 2020/2021 and previous years

• The German debt capital markets group is at the forefront of the market, especially for complex and high-volume bonds and programs for local corporate issuers and their banks.
  (JUVE Handbook 2021/2022)
  
• The debt capital markets group continues to belong to the strongest in the market.
  (JUVE Handbook 2020/2021)
• The hallmark of the team specialising in  debt instruments is providing advice on complex bond products and programs for German corporate clients.
  (JUVE Handbook 2019/2020)
• The law firm's debt capital markets group is one of the most sought-after advisory services for German entities. This is mainly due to the law firm's experience with tailored products, with which it regularly delivers convincing results.
  (JUVE Handbook 2018/2019)
• "The law firm is one of the leading addresses for bonds and structured financing." ... "The structured finance practice focuses on handling complex mandates."
  (JUVE Handbuch 2017/2018)

Banking & Finance
Chambers Europe Germany

Clients appreciate the team as "to the point and always meeting or beating the timeline.
(Chambers 2021)

Clients feel in good hands with the firm, describing it as "very competent, highly skilled and polite but tough and powerful in negotiations."
(Chambers 2020)

Numerous interviewees praise the team's responsiveness and level of client service, as one says: "They always give focused, clearly structured advice and can be contacted at any time," while another adds that "they are quick to reply, make themselves available at short notice and always deliver on time."
(Chambers 2019)