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Find out moreHow has Education in the Middle East and North Africa evolved to keep up with progressive digital and regulatory requirements of the times?
From the rise of AI in the classroom to the strong international interest in the regions education market the sector continues to undergo major transformation.
Our latest Law Update, titled “Brushstrokes of Law: Painting the Future”, takes a deep dive into these latest developments. In this issue, we explore:
We also feature a special section on our collaboration with the Mawaheb Art Studio, a unique creative space for People of Determination, and the artwork you see through the pages of this edition is a reflection of the students creativity.
The Law Update is a must-read for anyone who is passionate about education, whether you’re a lawyer, educator, policymaker, or investor.
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).
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