Derivatives and Structured Finance

Our advisory and transactional work covers the full range of derivatives products including over-the-counter, exchange-traded or securitised derivatives, as well as credit derivatives, equity-linked derivatives, currency and interest rate swaps, weather and energy derivatives, fund-linked notes, index and commodity certificates, warrants, structured Schuldscheine, contracts for differences, securities lending and repo transactions, strategic equity transactions and collateral arrangements.

We advise most financial institutions active in the market on the full range of product wrappers (including structured notes, certificates, warrants and funds) and underlyings (including equities, credit, commodities, FX, funds, indices and proprietary trading strategies). We advise on flow and highly bespoke structured products and are at the forefront of product development and regulatory and tax issues.

We have been European, Hong Kong and U.S. counsel to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) for many years and participate in other industry bodies. These roles put us at the forefront of legal, regulatory and documentary developments and innovations in the marketplace and keep us up to date with all relevant ISDA documentation. We can deal with any ISDA-related queries or concerns faster and more efficiently than most competitors.

For many years, we have advised clearing houses and exchanges on derivatives clearing issues, and now hold a prominent position in on the consequences of the EMIR regulation on the clearing of OTC derivatives.