Yannis Manuelides
Senior Counsel
London
Yannis Manuelides
Senior Counsel
London
Contact Details
Yannis is a London-based Senior Counsel with the firm having recently retired after 22 years as a partner. He qualified in England and also in France (but no longer practices in France). He was previously head of Allen & Overy's sovereign debt practice. Yannis has over 30 years' experience in banking and finance transactions including project, corporate and leveraged finance, debt restructurings, securitisations and capital market transactions.
Yannis led the legal team which acted for the Steering Committee of Private Creditors of Greece on the EUR206bn debt restructuring of the Hellenic Republic (PSI). Prior to the PSI he helped the Hellenic Republic with the audit of its debt liabilities and also assisted in the Hellenic Republic's discussions with the Troika on the establishments of the Privatisations Fund and related policy. Subsequently, he assisted in the establishment of the long term Asset Development Fund of the Hellenic Republic. Finally, he worked on a number of ancillary transactions required to be put in place as a precondition for rescue packages being made available to Greece.
Over the years Yannis has acted in a number of structured financings for supranationals and Eurozone sovereigns. Yannis has recently acted for clients in considering specific proposals for a new Eurozone sovereign debt architecture. Currently, he is working with clients on new types of financing that will enable sovereign borrowers to mobilise private and official sector finance towards sustainable development goals.
Memberships in expert groups
Yannis is a member of an ad hoc working group on GDP-linked bonds comprised of market participants and Bank of England economists to design market appropriate GDP-linked bonds for sovereigns.
Yannis is a contributor to the current debates on sovereign and bank debt through advice, membership of special committees, lectures and thought-papers. He is also a member of IIF's Committee on Sovereign Risk Management and Principles Consultative Group, the Sovereign Debt Committee of the International Law Association, and of the Sovereign Debt working group of the Financial Markets Law Committee.
Expertise
Practices
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 1991
Admitted as avocat à la cour, France, 1994 (no longer practicing in France)
Academic
BA, Philosophy, Princeton University, 1980
MA, Philosophy, The University of Chicago, 1983
BA, Law, University of Cambridge, 1985
Related articles
Blog Post: 18 November 2021
How COP26 will be relevant to future financings: Reflections on COP
Following all the hope, the pictures of dignitaries drinking Irn Bru and the hype surrounding COP26, one of the key questions is whether the negotiations will make a tangible difference to the…
News: 18 November 2021
Expertise
Practices
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as solicitor, England and Wales, 1991
Admitted as avocat à la cour, France, 1994 (no longer practicing in France)
Academic
BA, Philosophy, Princeton University, 1980
MA, Philosophy, The University of Chicago, 1983
BA, Law, University of Cambridge, 1985
Published work
Yannis co-authored with other world leading sovereign debt experts and commentators a handbook "Understanding Sovereign Debt – Options and Opportunities for Africa". The handbook is an accessible, practical legal guide for public debt managers and others involved in public financial management.
Yannis' publications and contributions on sovereign debt include the following:
- "How COP26 will be relevant to future financings: Reflections on COP", co-authored with Tim Conduit, Scott Neilson, Rachel O'Reilly and Arthur Sauzay, 18 November 2021
- "Responding to Risks of COVID Debt Distress" a report resulting from a Roundtable convened by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Consensus Building Institute, 19 July 2021
- "Why Public Assets are Key to Debt Sustainability: A Moral Goal" co-authored with Ian Ball, Dag Detter and Wang Yan, 19 April 2021
- "German Federal Constitutional Court/ECB and ECJ" co-authored with Dr Alexander Behrens, 7 May 2020
- "Using the Local Law Advantage in Today's Eurozone", Capital Markets Law Journal, Volume 14, Issue 4, Pages 469–487, October 2019
- "Debtor–creditor engagement in sovereign restructurings", Capital Markets Law Journal, Volume 13, Issue 3, 1 July 2018
- "English law and Jurisdiction Post Brexit", in The Changing Geography of Finance and Regulation in Europe, 2017, edited by Franklin Allen, Elena Carletti, Joanna Gray and Mitu Gulati, European University Institute
- "A Term Sheet for GDP-linked bonds", in Sovereign GDP Linked Bond: Rationale and Design, 2018, co-authored with Peter Crossan and edited by Robert Shiller, Jonathan Ostry and James Benford
- "GDP-linked bonds: a commentary on a termsheet", Capital Markets Law Journal, Volume 12, Issue 2, 21 April 2017
- "Restructuring of Greek Sovereign Debt" Global Restructuring Review, March 2017
Webinar
- SUERF BAFFI Bocconi e-Lecture "Sovereign Domestic Debt Restructuring: Handle with Care", 23 February 2022
- Center for Global Development "Responding to the Risks of COVID-19 Debt Distress", 12 October 2021
Podcast
