Gide was a pioneer in developing securitisation and secured instruments (covered bonds) ever since their first appearance in France. As early as 1988, and later in 1999 (and 2010 - concerning sociétés de financement de l'habitat), our lawyers took an active part in drafting laws and regulations in this area.

The experience of our Securitisation team is unparalleled in terms of the number of transactions, their nature and their magnitude, whether structured in France or abroad, for financial institutions or otherwise.

We offer our clients comprehensive services provided by an integrated and specialised team of French, English and US lawyers based in Paris, London and New York, supported by local expertise from other Gide offices around the world.

Our team is regularly awarded and ranked among the best by international legal directories, namely Chambers, Legal 500 and IFLR1000.

Gide has acted as legal counsel in operations generally recognised as flagship transactions in this sector:

• Creating economic development loan funds (Fonds de prêts à l'économie) or carrying out single-tranche securitisations for the purpose of financing local authorities, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, financing of commercial property and LBOs.
   
• Establishing and monitoring a dozen issuers of covered bonds (sociétés de crédit foncier and sociétés de financement de l'habitat) in France, and advising institutional investors on the first issue of covered bonds in Turkey by Şekerbank T.A.Ş in 2011.
   
• Whole business securitisations of motor vehicle fleets and leasing receivables in most of the major European jurisdictions.
   
• Securitisations of trade receivables, at local or pan-European level, using a securitisation vehicle and being funded through a leading asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) multi-seller conduits or out of major banks’ balance sheets.
   
• Refinancing operations like the creation of Société de Financement de l'Economie Française (SFEF), a refinancing vehicle for French banks established as part of the state support programme for French credit institutions in 2008/2009.
   
• Securitisation in the Maghreb region: the first securitisation of a mortgage loan in Morocco (Crédit Immobilier et Hôtelier) and securitisations of property loans in Tunisia (Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie (BIAT)), pursuant to Tunisian Law No. 2001-83 of 24 July 2001 promulgating the Code des Organismes de Placement Collectif.
   
• Collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) arranged by leading international arrangers, involving multiple investors and collateral managers.
   
• Asset-backed refinancing of corporate and aviation loan receivables originated in multiple jurisdictions, funded through bilateral repo arrangements.

Gide Loyrette Nouel LLP has a deep bench of securitisation and asset-backed finance lawyers in London and Paris. Its London group is particularly active in whole-business, trade receivables, mortgage and lease securitisations, as well as CLOs. ‘Their deep understanding and expertise in securitisation is second to none and their recent focus in blockchain and tokenization, with a dedicated practice, is quite unique‘, remarks one client. Practice head Dimitrios Logizidis is ‘an exceptional talent that is thorough in his approach‘. Counsel Samir Bensaker ‘goes out of his way to ensure availability and provides ready answers to questions and practical solutions to difficulties‘.

Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - England - Finance : Securisation

Avec Xavier de Kergommeaux, Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. compte dans ses rangs l'un des experts français les plus réputés en matière de financements structurés et de financements adossés à des sociétés de crédit foncier et des sociétés de financement de l'habitat. Arnaud Duhamel et Laurent Vincent codirigent la pratique de dérivés du cabinet, qui est particulièrement reconnue pour les opérations de dérivés actions stratégiques et dérivés de crédits structurés. Le cabinet traite un large volume d’opérations. Il s’illustre régulièrement par sa présence dans des opérations innovantes, contribuant ainsi à façonner le cadre réglementaire national (comme par exemple par son rôle joué sur le segment des obligations sécurisées). L’expertise française est complétée par une présence outre-manche, offrant des compétences en matière de dérivés et de financements structurés. Basés au sein du bureau londonien  Dimitrios Logizidis et Karine Imbrosciano collaborent ainsi régulièrement avec le bureau parisien dans la gestion de dossiers transfrontaliers, souvent de nature paneuropéenne. Participe également à la pratique, le counsel Clément Vandevooghel (anciennement en poste chez Natixis), qui est spécialisé dans le domaine des financements structurés. A noter, l'équipe innovation du cabinet (Gide 255) a assisté plusieurs clients en matière de collateral tokens et sur leur application à des structures de dérivés.

Legal 500 Paris 2022 - Titrisation, Dérivés et Financements structurés

The securitisation group at Gide Loyrette Nouel LLP is 'hardworking, friendly, and down to earth, and they know their industry inside out'. The London office is a key part of the firm's international securitisation and asset-backed finance practice, which handles structured credit, synthetic securitisation, collateral management and more. The London team works mainly on trade receivables transactions, though it also handles mortgage and lease deals, as well as CLO restructuring. Practice head Dimitrios Logizidis is 'a fantastic partner and wholeheartedly trustworthy'. He recently assisted Trafigura with establishing an international trade receivables securitisation programme governed by English law. Counsel Samir Bensaker specialises in securitisation and structured finance, and he is qualified in both English and French law.

Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - England