Book an appointment with us, or search the directory to find the right lawyer for you directly through the app.
Find out moreThe first Law Update of 2024 is here, and our first focus of the year spotlights Healthcare and Lifesciences, a sector that is undergoing significant growth and development across the MENA region.
Our focus provides an insight into some of the most important regulatory updates across the region, such as the UAE’s groundbreaking law on the use of human genome, Kuwait’s resolution on nuclear and radioactive materials, the new regulations for healthcare services in Qatar, Egypt’s healthcare regulatory framework, and the impact of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law on the healthcare and life sciences sector … and there is so much more!
Beyond the healthcare pages our lawyers share with you multi-sector insights where you will discover articles on Dubai’s DIFC regulatory framework for startups, Bahrain’s commercial agencies law, and we also shed light on Kuwaiti civil code and the advantages of setting up a joint stock company in Saudi Arabia.
Read the full editionMadhurima Basu - Senior Counsel - Banking and Finance
You want to hedge currency or interest rate risk or even use derivatives to address credit risk or leverage your balance sheet? Your bank wants you to enter into International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (‘ISDA’) agreements? You think that the ISDA agreement is a standard form document with limited negotiable points?
While the ISDA agreement is highly standardised and is used in a wide variety of derivatives transactions, it is not a standard form document. In this article, we will examine certain key issues that should be considered in order to set up a derivatives trading relationship.
First, back to basics. The parties will need an ISDA agreement to enter into any over-the-counter (‘OTC’) derivatives trades between them. The constituent parts are:
It is in the interest of both parties to establish this framework before they commence trading derivatives. The documents will need to be amended to reflect the type of and creditworthiness of the parties as well as the type of transactions being contemplated between the parties.
While the creditworthiness is an important factor in determining whether to trade with them, the counterparty’s jurisdiction of incorporation is also a key point that should be considered. Two main factors dominate the counterparty’s jurisdiction discussion: the insolvency risk. and the regulatory issues.
Derivatives master agreements include the concept of close-out netting which is the process used to determine the net obligations of a defaulting counterparty to the derivatives transactions entered into under the master agreement. In summary, the defaulting counterparty’s remaining contractual obligations are terminated, and the final positive and negative replacement values of its positions are combined into a single net payable or receivable amount. However, this is possible when the relevant bankruptcy laws of a jurisdiction include carve-outs for close-out netting. While certain countries in the middle east have adopted relevant netting legislations to exclude close-out netting from the purview of bankruptcy laws, a few countries that have not adopted separate netting laws remain and thus, local counsel should be consulted in order to analyse whether existing bankruptcy laws allow for close-out netting.
Derivatives have been in focus since the 2008 financial crisis which led to a series of reforms by the United States of America, the European Union and certain other countries. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the USA and the European market infrastructure regulation in the European Union introduced obligations including trade reporting, central clearing, margin requirements and special resolution regimes to improve the OTC derivatives market. Most of these regulatory regimes focus on the same points though there are nuances between them. To assist market participants to comply with these regulatory changes by various authorities, ISDA created a series of protocols. However, when entering into a new ISDA agreement, the parties should consider relevant applicable regulations and related obligations and reflect those while drafting the ISDA agreement.
As consequence of the above factors, it is important to investigate the resultant choice of an entity to enter into derivatives transactions from a credit and regulatory perspective. As an example, it is worth considering whether you may be asked to exchange variation or initial margin for transactions when dealing with banks from certain jurisdictions or whether close-out is more prolonged for your bank’s default due to the special resolution regimes applicable in those jurisdictions. Similarly, as many banks have complex corporate structures, it may be helpful to deliberate on tax considerations or additional changes or termination events required to address any concerns arising from such structures.
You are contemplating entering into a large financing facility and your bank wants you to enter into a new finance linked ISDA Agreement to document the related swap A finance linked ISDA agreement is considerably different from the standard ISDA agreement. The key issue is interlinking the finance facility and swap and the respective documents. In this process, you should consider, among others:
In summary, the ISDA agreement is not a standard form document that can be signed without negotiations. In this article, we have touched on just a few of the issues which need to be considered when documenting derivatives; there are many more negotiating points and potential pitfalls. Accordingly, although often viewed as a standard, it is essential to seek guidance from experts while negotiating the ISDA agreement.
For further information, please contact Jody Waugh (j.waugh@tamimi.com), Omar Handoush (o.handoush@tamimi.com) or Madhurima Basu (m.basu@tamimi.com).
To learn more about our services and get the latest legal insights from across the Middle East and North Africa region, click on the link below.