SFNet's International Lending Conference will be held in person May 23 to 25, 2022 at DLA Piper Offices in London, UK. The Conference is geared towards those active in the international lending space, who need a clear understanding of the current global landscape, what may be on the horizon, and what it all means for your business. Some of the most interesting players on the international lending scene will gather for discussions and insights into what lies ahead.

“After two years, we are very excited to get back together in person with our favorite colleagues in the world of international lending—to catch up and to talk about new opportunities,” said David Morse, partner, Otterbourg P.C.  “This is a conference where you always learn something new and pick up some interesting bit of information that helps you in thinking about your cross-border deals. The panels this year run the gamut from high-level reviews of market issues from some of the most-informed and thoughtful people in the industry to the nuts and bolts, practical issues of making secured cross-border loans work.”

On Monday, May 23, there will be a pre-ILC event, Geopolitical Impact on the European ABL Market, hosted by SFNet’s European Chapter at Squire Patton Boggs in London, which will offer a panel and Q&A and networking reception.

Following the Chapter event will be the ILC Opening Reception held at The Ned, Tapestry Room, from 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., sponsored by Hilco Global and the BREAL Group.  

The Conference kicks off on Tuesday, May 24, with a Global Economic Outlook presentation by economist Trevor Williams, who will speak to the current state of the world economy in a landscape that continues to be dominated by COVID.  He will address the investment opportunities that are arising from this complex picture. 

“The world economy is facing three one-in-one-hundred-year challenges at once: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing effects of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007/8,” Williams said. “Yet, global wealth has never been higher - though more concentrated in the hands of the top 10% than seen since the 1960s.  Though rising, interest rates are low as inflation pushes up to 30/40-year highs. Volatility is thus, high. But liquidity is plentiful and investment opportunities abound. From clean energy, to a plethora of new technological innovations - such as in financial services, manufacturing, agriculture, and biotech to name a few - that will transform lives and the world economy. The pace of change is fast, leading to risk and challenge. My talk aims to reach some conclusions all these issues and cut through the complexity.”

After the Economic Outlook will be the Economist Review, featuring leaders in the secured finance industry discussing where they see real opportunities for secured lending across the world and where they see pitfalls to be avoided.  Christopher Hawes, Sr. Advisor Debt and Capital Advisory, PwC will serve as moderator and panelists will be Kurt Marsden, group head of Corporate Finance, Wells Fargo Capital Finance; Ron Biemans, head of International Origination & Structuring, ABN AMRO and Peter York, managing director, Asset-Based Lending, JP Morgan Securities LLC and SFNet president.

“Facing economic circumstances few of us have seen for a while, and many have never experienced before, what policy responses do central bankers have? What are the potential missteps which could derail the recovery? Is this a return to the stagflation of the 1970’s? Will we see a recession?," said Hawes. 

After a coffee break, the Market Review Panel will discuss the latest SFNet report from its quarterly survey of the asset-based lending market, as well as additional information from other market watchers and leverage finance and bond markets reviews. Peter York will serve as moderator with panelists Vincent Daigger, senior market analyst, Debtwire; Maria Dikeos, director of Loans Analytics & head of Global Loans Contributions, Refinitiv; and Xenia Sarri, managing director, Lincoln International.

David Avery, chairperson, Irish Asset and Invoice Finance Association, will then provide an update on the state of the market there and where opportunities may lie in Ireland: Opportunities in the Emerald Isle.

The France: The Evolving Landscape—Are We There Yet? panelwill discuss how the French law of secured transactions continues to evolve to support the rights of secured lenders.  September 2021 brought enactment of further wide-ranging reforms of French secured transaction law to simplify and modernize the rights of secured creditors in response to the EU Directive on restructurings and insolvency. Attendees will find out how these changes may help in addressing the challenges that confront secured creditors in France. Richard Kohn, principal, Goldberg Kohn, will serve as moderator and Jean-François Adelle, partner, Jeantet Associes and Benjamin Marche, partner–Banking & Finance, Squire Patton Boggs, will serve as panelists.

The new Era of Private Debt Panel will dive intohow debt funds are deploying all of the capital raised and the different strategies the funds are using. According to reports, mid-market private lending in Europe in 2021 set records in deal volume. Meanwhile, the scale of private debt funds continues to increase. Panelists Peter Jaffe, managing director, Callodine Finance; Tom Otte, partner & head of Asset-Based Lending and Europe, White Oak Global Advisors; Ben Johnson, senior manager, Debt & Advisory, PwC and George Lane, manager, Debt & Advisory, PwC, will discuss how these players are impacting the market and traditional asset-based lending.

ESG Meets ABL: How Are These Terms Developing in the ABL Market? will provide a quick review of asset-based transactions that have included some form of ESG provision, along with a brief overview of some of the key issues confronting lenders in this arena.

“We will discuss how lender policy requirements are adapting to the ESG agenda of many stakeholders, including the use of the LMA/LSTA ESG due diligence questionnaires,” explained panelist Georgia Quenby, partner, Morgan Lewis. “We will also talk about a shift to including a request for two or more ESG-related KPIs in all new deals, and the evolving role of independent third parties in establishing benchmarks and measuring performance against those benchmarks.  In addition, we will consider how the radically changing world view coming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impacting ESG both from an environmental perspective given the huge shift in the energy security conversation and from a governance perspective.”

Peter Pears, partner, Mayer Brown; Mike Roth, director, Deutsche Bank; and Stefan Stübing, head of Sustainable Finance, ABN AMRO, round out the panel.

New Insolvency and Secured Lending Laws, featuring moderator Michael Black, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright, and panelists Christof Schiller, partner, anchor Rechtsanwälte; Nick Moser, partner, Taylor Wessing LLP; and Teun Struyken, partner, NautaDutilh, will discuss the new rules of the insolvency road, such as the new German restructuring regime, the “German Scheme,” the new “Dutch Scheme” in January 2021 and the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 in the UK, and how it has affected secured lenders.           

Following a busy day of panels, the evening will conclude with a Networking Reception.

On Wednesday, May 25, the Conference will begin with Supply Chain Disruption in International Trade. Attendees will find out the scope and nature of the issues and how ABL borrowers are dealing with them, how long it will continue, solutions and opportunities. David Chmiel, Global Torchlight Ltd., will serve as moderator with Andrew Klimcke, managing director, SIAN Wholesale Ltd. as a panelist.

As goods spend more time in transit and companies look for more availability based on those goods, what do lenders need to think about in relying on in-transit inventory as collateral? Financing Goods on the Water will review of the legal and practical issues in lending against in-transit inventory.

 “Given all of the issues in international trade, everyone is keenly refocused on the intricacies of financing in-transit inventory of asset-based borrowers—the risks and challenges, how to mitigate them and how do you get to where you need to be in the spectrum of risk for any given deal,” panelist David Morse said.  “This panel will be looking at all of those elements and even talk about the big question that looms large—what about electronic bills of lading?  There’s a lot here to talk about and we certainly hope everyone will get something out of the discussion.” 

“We’ll be discussing what it takes to perfect a lien on in-transit goods.  Are you actually perfected?” panelist Andrea Pipitone Beirne, partner, KPMG LLP, added. “What could your financial institution be missing in the process?  Are lenders knowingly or unknowingly taking risks on in-transit inventory?”

William Starshak, partner, Goldberg Kohn Ltd., will serve as moderator and additional panelists include Alexander Goulandris, co-head, essDOCS, and Boudewijn Smit, senior associate, NautaDutilh. 

Clearly tech is one of the “winners” in the COVID economy, but how does it work with traditional ABL? The Tech and Secured Finance panel will answer this and more, such asWhat about the “recurring revenue” product? What is the state of the tech market in different geographies? What about channel distribution for the major manufacturers? Ian Borman, partner, Winston & Strawn LLP, London, will serve as moderator. Panelists include Matthew Sparkes, executive director, JP Morgan Chase Bank; Tayyib Chowdhry, director, Wells Fargo Capital Finance; and James Newton, VP Strategic Capital, Silicon Valley Bank.

The Conference will conclude with lunch. 

For those interested in attending, please click here to register.