SFNet's International Lending Conference (ILC) brings together some of the most interesting players on the international lending scene for discussions and insights into what lies ahead. This year’s Conference will be held at DLA Piper Offices, May 9-11, 2023. This year, SFNet’s European Chapter will host a Pre-ILC Event on May 9, 2023 at Squire Patton Boggs in London, consisting of networking and panels. 

The ILC Conference will kick off with an opening reception the evening before held at Jamie’s Adam’s Court and sponsored by Hilco Global and Breal. On May 10, following a welcome and introduction, will be an Economist Discussion, with economist and journalist, Dr. Mathijs Bouman. Dr. Bouman will present current views on economic developments throughout the world and their impact on the financial markets. Attendees should expect to hear an upbeat, but realistic, talk about current economic affairs, with a focus on Euro area, monetary policy, the tight labor market and the perils of deglobalization.

“War, energy crisis, high inflation, synchronized interest rate hikes and stagnation in China, should have pushed the European economy in a deep recession,” Bouman said. “But the old continent is more resilient than many feared and the downturn could turn out to be shallow and short-lived. But new challenges lay ahead for European industries: the structurally tight labor market, trade and investment wars and fragmentation of the world economy and the rising costs of climate policy.” 

Immediately following will be the Restructuring Review—the EU Directive: New Laws, New Procedures panel.  In September 2022, Spain became the last major European jurisdiction to overhaul its insolvency laws to address the EU Restructuring Directive, following the Netherlands, Germany and France. This panel will discuss the key elements of these changes and, if any of these new procedures are being used, if they are achieving their objectives. Panelists will touch on whether new issues have developed as a result.

Dimitri Karcazes, partner, Goldberg Kohn Ltd., will serve as moderator. Panelists will include Charlotte Møller, partner, Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group; Geoff Rowley, partner, FRP Advisory LLP; Christof Schiller, partner, anchor Rechtsanwälte, and Teun Struycken, partner, NautaDutilh.

After a coffee break, the Conference will dive into the UK Insolvency Review panel, featuring moderator Nick Moser, partner, Taylor Wessing LLP and panelist Nigel Hogg, EMEA regional head of Credit, Wells Fargo Capital Finance.

The panel will discuss if there were any adverse effects on the use of the UK as a forum once the Brexit “transition period” came to an end at the end of 2020, and how the English Courts have dealt with the international insolvency cases. It will also discuss what the UK Insolvency Service is saying about the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and what that legislation has meant in actual cases.

Attendees will break for lunch and then the International Retail Financing: Opportunity or Challenge? panel will begin. This panel will answer: Is the world poised for another series of retail insolvencies? Is it already happening? How are lenders dealing with it?

Ian Borman, partner, Winston & Strawn LLP, will serve as moderator. Panelists will include Ian Fredericks, president, Hilco Retail Group; Jonathan Levine, partner, Bantry Bay Capital; and Federica Pietrogrande, managing director of capital, Gordon Brothers.

“The retail sector has been disrupted like no other in recent times,” said Borman. “Already battered by the ‘brick to clicks’ transition, COVID both accelerated that trend as well as created impossible to navigate changes to consumer demands, leaving stock overhangs and working capital shortfalls in its wake.  However, retail has always created opportunities for asset-backed lenders, where it has always been a question of finding value.  This is true for both distressed situations and for companies who need to fund a transition to a new business model, such as branded food retailers.  Or even entirely new industries such as online re-sellers or content providers.”

 As private debt continues to explode, asset-based lenders in a cross-border facility are likely to find themselves part of a capital structure that includes private debt and an intercreditor agreement to provide the road map for the rights of the respective lenders in the event of distress or insolvency. The Transatlantic Intercreditor Agreements: What’s Different? panel will address what the issues are and how they are being addressed.

Michael Black, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright, will be the moderator and panelists will include Paula Laird, partner, co-chair Banking and Debt Finance, Squire Patton Boggs.

Continuing with the private debt theme, the next panel, Private Debt: Filling the Void, will be a review of the growth in private debt, and what private debt funds are encountering in fund raising and in the market. It will address what the relationship is with ABL. David Morse, partner, Otterbourg P.C., will serve as moderator.  Steven Chait, operating manager, Blazehill; Peter Jaffe, managing director, Callodine Commercial Finance; Xenia Sarri, managing director, Lincoln International LLP; and Tom Otte, partner & head of Asset Based Lending, White Oak Commercial Finance, LLC will serve as panelists.

After an invigorating day of panels, the day will conclude with a reception.

Since sponsors and acquisitions are one of the drivers of ABL volume there will be a panel focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions:  Market Review. Moderator Matthew Sparkes, managing director, JPMorgan and panelists Harriet Matthews, funds editor, IONGroup and Greg Moreton, partner, RSM UK will discuss what they are seeing in the market, along with future projections.

The ABL meets ESG and Sustainability-Linked Loans - US, UK and Europe Compared panel will discuss what is happening with documentation and the effects of the developing regulatory regimes. They will discuss investor and market pressures and how lenders can make it all work. Panelists will include Arash Mojabi, Sustainable Finance – UK Lead, ING; Katharine Weeden, director ABL Origination, ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance; and Steven Gray, Steven Gray, Partner, DLA Piper LLP.

               “ESG is rather like the internet in its early days: everyone was talking about it, but very few knew what it was or how to make the most of it and, like the internet, it will soon be an intrinsic part of our lives and businesses,” said panel moderator Sarah Day, partner, DLA Piper LLP.  “We’re therefore delighted to have panelists who do know what ESG means for our business and personal lives and look forward to an interesting and illuminating session.”

The Conference will conclude with a geopolitical discussion discussing the issues of today and how they will impact the lending community. Lord Gavin Barwell, strategic advisor, DLA Piper, and David Chmiel, managing director, Global Torchlight, will speak.

“Global businesses and commercial lenders are navigating a geopolitical environment that is the most volatile in decades,” said David Chmiel. “What complicates things even further is that governments are actively leveraging private trade, investment, and capital flows as tools with which to assert their national interests. In our panel, we will assess some of the key geopolitical trends of the present and future and consider how businesses can manage and mitigate the risks of operating globally in this new world of strategic competition between nations.”

The Conference will conclude with lunch. For those interested in attending, please click here to register.