Finance

Subscribe to Finance via RSS

In an effort to improve market efficiency and to speed settlement, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (the “LSTA”) has amended its trading documents in order to address concerns that market participants are increasingly failing to make timely payment of the “Purchase Price” with respect to their bank loan trade settlements. Although typically only one or two days late, some delays have been substantially longer, and such failures can understandably prove to be quite costly to loan sellers and disruptive to the market as a whole. The amendments introduce language into the LSTA Standard Terms and Conditions for its suite of trade confirmations (the “Standard Terms”) that requires tardy loan buyers to pay a “Late Payment Fee.” *

Continue Reading LSTA Introduces Late Payment Fees for Loan Trade Transactions

Crowell was proud to serve as a sponsor of the recent New York University School of Law symposium on “Charting the Future of Litigation Finance.” The symposium brought together over 200 leading lawyers, academics, policymakers, and judges for an engaging discussion on the regulatory and policy issues surrounding this rapidly growing area of finance. Crowell partner Kevin Rubinstein spoke on “Nonattorneys Enter the Room: Financier Control and Law Firm Ownership.”

Continue Reading Crowell Sponsors NYU Law Litigation Finance Symposium

Crowell was pleased to host and sponsor Opus Connect’s recent NYC Private Debt Roundtable. The event drew a group of private debt leaders for engaging and thoughtful discussion around some of the key challenges private debt firms face today, and the emerging opportunities. The conversation covered everything from new technologies shaping the space to how firms are evolving their strategies in response to a changing environment.

Continue Reading Crowell Hosts NYC Private Debt Roundtable With Opus Connect

Crowell was proud to serve as a sponsor of the recent Drinks & Discussion hosted by the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA). The event on April 16 brought together over 150 leading practitioners, funders, and professionals from across the legal finance ecosystem at Grand Brasserie for networking and discussion on one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving areas of finance.

Crowell has a leading Financial Services group, and is pleased to support the mission of ILFA through our sponsorship.

Continue Reading Crowell Sponsors ILFA Drinks & Discussion in New York

The financing of legal actions by third parties has grown exponentially since the early 2000s and is now common across many common law and civil law jurisdictions. It is still in its infancy in Qatar, but the Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (the “QICCA”) expressly recognised third party dispute funding in its 2024 rules update (the “QICCA Rules”).

This article seeks to provide a brief introduction to third party funding, and how it can make justice more accessible in a time when arbitration has become an expensive endeavour. While third party dispute funding may allow greater access to arbitration, it requires a careful balancing act between the interests of the claim’s stakeholders, and indeed those of the adverse party, with private equity investment demands.

Continue Reading Qatar Third-Party Dispute Funding: An Introduction

Seeking to protect their investments in the face of increased liability management exercises, lenders began signing “cooperation agreements,” which required the lenders to cooperate when negotiating to restructure existing debt or provide new debt to their shared borrower. These cooperation agreements protect lenders from “creditor-on-creditor violence” — when one lender (or a subset of lenders) renegotiates with a borrower to the benefit of the negotiating lender and the detriment of the others.

In November 2025, Optimum Communications, Inc. (f/k/a Altice) and CSC Holdings, LLC (together, Optimum) filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against its lenders — Apollo, Ares, GoldenTree, Loomis, Oaktree, and PGIM (collectively, the Cooperative) — challenging their cooperation agreement as an unlawful cartel. In the complaint, Optimum alleges two antitrust theories: (i) the Cooperation Agreement constituted a group boycott of Optimum because the Cooperative members agreed not to individually work with Optimum to restructure debt absent supermajority approval from the Cooperative, and (ii) the Cooperation Agreement constituted an unlawful price-fixing scheme by requiring the Cooperative’s steering committee to negotiate with Optimum exclusively, rather than allow Optimum to negotiate individual discounts with individual lenders. Optimum alleges that because the Cooperative controls approximately 88% of the entire leveraged finance market and 99% of Optimum’s outstanding debt, the Cooperation Agreement has made it incredibly difficult for Optimum to restructure its debt.

Continue Reading Optimum’s Shot Across the Bow: An Antitrust Challenge to Cooperation Agreements

Asset-based lending (ABL) and adjacent areas of asset-focused finance continually shift towards the center ground of mainstream corporate finance. Flexibility, underpinned by collateral-driven risk, is in demand. The market continues to diverge (in some instances, becoming even more finely-tuned to complex credit, special situations, and restructuring), but its growth is generally well documented, with regulatory capital treatment and multiple other drivers potentially accelerating the same, particularly outside of the traditional banking sector.

So, what should modern stakeholders look out for? ABL structures typically feature fewer traditional financial covenants than cash-flow lending, but involve real operational visibility, asset monitoring, and dynamic controls. Generally, these activate far more swiftly than a conventional financial covenant breach in a heavier term loan structure.

Continue Reading Asset-Based Lending: At Times Covenant-Lite, but Not Control-Lite

In an effort to improve market efficiency and to speed settlement, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (the “LSTA”) is proposing amendments to its trading documents in order to address concerns that market participants are increasingly failing to make timely payment of the “Purchase Price” with respect to their bank loan trade settlements. Although typically only one or two days late, such failures, on a large scale, can prove to be quite costly to loan sellers and disruptive to the market as a whole. The proposal would introduce language into the LSTA Standard Terms and Conditions for its suite of trade confirmations (the “Standard Terms”) that would require tardy loan buyers to pay a “Late Payment Fee.”

Continue Reading LSTA Proposes Introduction of Late Payment Fees in Loan Trade Transactions

According to reports, Saks Global Enterprises, a leader in luxury retail, is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection imminently. Saks houses such iconic brands as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus. Despite a recent recapitalization, the filing by this iconic company should not be a surprise to those following the industry closely. Retail has continued to face increased costs due to tariffs, inflationary pressures, ballooning consumer debt, and the continued rise of e-commerce competitors (including the upstart Quince). Total debt throughout the Saks enterprise is said to exceed $6 billion. The filing, when it comes, will follow a year-end missed interest payment in respect of certain notes, a sure signal of restructuring activity to come.

For lenders, landlords, suppliers, and other creditors, early preparation for a bankruptcy filing, and taking decisive steps during any bankruptcy case, will be critical to protecting interests and maximizing recoveries.

Continue Reading Saks Global Enterprises Bankruptcy: What Creditors Need to Know Now

Paul Haskel was recently quoted in an American Lawyer article that explores trends and new approaches in law firm finance. The article discusses various methods of funding utilized by law firms, including debt finance from traditional financial institutions and, more recently, private capital.

Paul commented, “Currently, most firms who have little cash on hand tend…