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Structured Finance & Financial Products
Structured Finance & Financial Products
Widely considered the leader in Canada's securitization and derivative products market, Stikeman Elliott has assisted Canadian and international clients in developing, structuring and implementing a wide variety of structured finance and financial products, transactions and vehicles for nearly 20 years. In the 2007 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, more Stikeman Elliott practitioners are recognized in the area of asset securitization and derivative instruments than any other firm. Also, Stikeman Elliott has more lawyers ranked than any other firm in the areas of Derivatives and Structured Finance in 2008 edition The Best Lawyers in Canada. Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Structured Finance Lawyers names four lawyers as leaders in Canada, and names Michael Carman, head of our Structured Finance and Financial Products Group, as one of the leading five lawyers in the world.

Stikeman Elliott is at the forefront of the Canadian market in securitizations. The firm has represented financial institutions, major corporations and other market participants in securitizations involving virtually every significant asset class, including trade, wholesale, credit card and other retail receivables, lease receivables and residuals, instalment receivables (such as automobile, agricultural and construction equipment receivables) and insurance receivables, as well as commercial loans, commercial and residential real estate loans, mutual fund fees and commodities. The firm is also a leader in other forms of structured finance. The firm regularly advises on domestic and cross-border structured finance transactions, many having particular funding, tax, capital, accounting or rating objectives and often involving the use of innovative derivatives or repackaging and credit enhancement techniques. Typical transactions include equity and commodity monetization, credit default swap transactions, repackagings and other synthetic securitizations, CLOs, CDOs and CBOs, clone fund structures, securities lending and repo transactions, structured note offerings and linked deposit products, synthetic leases and similar structures employing credit derivatives.

Financial Products

Stikeman Elliott is Canadian counsel to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA), a mandate that reflects the firm's international reputation in financial products. The firm advises on a broad range of over-the counter (OTC) and publicly offered derivative products, including all forms of swap transactions, OTC options, warrant products, forwards and futures involving interest rates, currencies, equity interests, commodities, credit exposures and other novel interests, and on repos and securities lending transactions, prime brokerage accounts and related documentation and, in a variety of contexts, public offerings, repackagings and other capital markets transactions involving equity, debt and asset-backed securities, structured notes and hybrid securities with embedded derivatives. Stikeman Elliott is counsel to leading Canadian and international financial institutions and dealers and frequently advises major corporations, mutual funds, rating agencies, governments and government agencies, pension funds, hedge funds and various industry organizations. The authoritative textbook on derivatives law in Canada, The Law of Financial Derivatives in Canada (Carswell), was written by Stikeman Elliott partners Margaret Grottenthaler and Philip Henderson.

Our Approach

Stikeman Elliott's expertise in this area of practice is unsurpassed in both the scope and complexity of the mandates that we have completed. Equally important, however, is the firm's approach in working with clients and other parties to develop structures to achieve particular funding, tax, capital, accounting and ratings objectives in a practical and efficient manner. The group has the expertise, resources and experience to advise on the most complex transactions and comprises practitioners with specialist skills and technical excellence in the key areas of securities, banking, insolvency and taxation law, all of which are recognized areas of expertise in the broader business law practice of Stikeman Elliott. We understand the importance of receiving clear and timely advice on characterization, insolvency stay and claw back risks, collateralization, registration and other legal issues central to transaction structuring and implementation. We routinely advise Canadian and international financial institutions on the compliance with provincial and federal regulatory regimes.


Recent Group Activities

ABCP Restructuring
Stikeman Elliott is acting for a group of seven foreign bank asset providers in the $32 billion third party asset-backed commercial paper CCAA restructuring, the largest restructuring  in Canadian history. The plan of arrangement was recently sanctioned by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Structured Finance lawyers recognized globally
The new Guide to the World's Leading Structured Finance Lawyers lists Michael Carman, Margaret Grottenthaler, Michael Rumball and Peter Hamilton as leading lawyers in Canada. In addition to being voted the top nominee in Canada, Michael Carman was also nominated as one of the top five leading Structured Finance lawyers in the world according to Expert Guide Research.

Ranked # 1 in Best Lawyers in Canada for Securities, Derivatives and Structured Finance
Stikeman Elliott is ranked #1 in Best Lawyers 2008 for Canadian law firms for M&A, Corporate Law, Securities, Derivatives and Structured Finance.


practices  
Specialty Areas
Contacts
Key Contacts

Montréal:
Marc Barbeau
Sterling Dietze
Jean Lamothe

Toronto:
Michael Carman
Margaret Grottenthaler
Philip Henderson
William Scott

Calgary:
Brad Grant
Frederick Erickson
Harold Andersen

Vancouver:
Michael Allen
Ralph Lutes

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