Kicking off with our then-and-now market overview, this year’s series offered 12 dynamic sessions, including:
- Understanding the Credit Agreement
- LSTA Advocacy 101 in Three Acts
- So You Got a BDC Filing. How Do You Read It?
- Beyond Borders: CRD VI’s Impact on U.S. Lending
- Digital Assets and Crypto-Based Credit Agreement 101
- Ethics of AI
- Understanding Corporate Loan Market Liquidity
- How to Settle Primary Allocations and Secondary Trades
- State of the Loan Market: Trends in Defaults, LMEs and Market Outlook
Open to:
- LSTA members
CLE credit information:
12 CLE credits are available for New York State Transitional and Non-Transitional – Areas of Professional Practice
Agenda
Week 1
Monday, July 13, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Evolution of the U.S. Leveraged Finance Ecosystem
Kicking off the Summer Series, our market overview will delve into the evolution of today’s resilient loan market: from liquid, broadly syndicated credits to the impressive growth in the private credit market.
Speaker:
- Ioana Barza, Managing Director and Global Head of Research, KBRA DLD
Tuesday–Thursday, July 14–16
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Understanding the Credit Agreement
Over three afternoons, Milbank partners will teach you the basics of a credit agreement, including typical representations, covenants, and defaults and enforcement.
Speakers:
- Meir S. Hornung, Partner and Leveraged Finance Group member, Milbank LLP
- Spencer Pepper, Partner and Leveraged Finance Group member, Milbank LLP
CLE credits: 6 (2 credits per day)
Week 2
Monday, July 20, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
LSTA Advocacy 101 in Three Acts
This session will outline the three pillars of LSTA’s federal advocacy efforts: legislative, regulatory and judicial. You will gain a clear understanding of how each prong functions and why all three are essential to effective industry advocacy.
Topics will include:
- A Bill Is Just a Bill: How the Federal Legislative Process Works
- Rules Rule! How the Federal Regulatory System Works
- Amicus Litigation: How It Works and Why It Matters
Speaker:
- Elliot Ganz, Head of Advocacy, LSTA
CLE credits: 1
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
So You Got a BDC Filing. How Do You Read It?
Private credit is everywhere right now – and business development corporations (BDCs) provide a window into it. But most people open a BDC 10-Q or 10-K and get lost. This session helps with that. In 60 minutes, you’ll come away better equipped to read a BDC filing – knowing where to pull key data points from footnotes, schedules and disclosures.
Moderator:
- Andrew Berlin, Vice President and Director of Policy Research, LSTA
Speaker:
- Robert Dodd, Senior Analyst, BDCs and Specialty Finance
Director, Equity Research, Raymond James
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Beyond Borders: CRD VI's Impact on U.S. Lending
The EU’s new cross-border lending rules have significant implications for U.S. loan market participants – and key deadlines are approaching.
Starting January 11, 2027, Article 21c of CRD VI will prohibit non-EU banks from lending to EU borrowers on a cross-border basis without a licensed EU entity or a qualifying exemption. This panel examines who is in scope, what exemptions are available, and what structural and documentation changes lenders should be considering as implementation draws near.
Moderator:
- Tess Virmani, General Counsel and EVP/Head of Policy, LSTA
Speakers:
- Karen Contoudis Buzard, Partner, A&O Shearman
- Rebecca Feinberg, Managing Chief Counsel, PNC Bank, National Association
- Adam W. Harwood, Associate, A&O Shearman
- Bob Penn, Partner, A&O Shearman
CLE credits: 1
Thursday, July 23, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Digital Assets and Crypto-Backed Credit Agreements 101
As digital assets continue to move into the mainstream of corporate finance, lenders, borrowers, sponsors and investors are confronting a new generation of financing structures that incorporate cryptocurrency, stablecoins and other blockchain-based assets. This introductory panel will provide a practical overview of the rapidly evolving legal and commercial framework governing digital asset lending and crypto-backed credit documentation, including collateral structures, perfection of security interests, valuation methodologies and enforcement considerations.
Panelists will also explore the growing role of stablecoins and the regulatory developments reshaping the digital asset landscape following enactment of the GENIUS Act and the 2022 UCC amendments introducing Article 12. The discussion will broadly consider how regulation may accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets and create new opportunities – and challenges – for the credit markets. Designed for practitioners and market participants seeking a foundational understanding of this emerging asset class, the session will highlight key legal, regulatory and documentation issues while offering practical insights into where digital asset finance is headed next.
Moderator:
- Elizabeth Yazgi, Assistant General Counsel, LSTA
Speaker:
- Matthew Frankle, Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP
- Megha Kalbag, Partner, Dechert LLP
- Margo H.K. Tank, Partner, DLA Piper LLP
CLE credits: 1
Week 3
Monday, July 27, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Ethics in AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming legal practice, creating new opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance legal workflows and deliver greater value to clients. This panel will explore practical legal AI use cases, key ethical and governance considerations, and emerging developments that legal organizations should prepare for as AI capabilities continue to evolve. You will gain a framework for evaluating AI adoption while maintaining professional responsibility and attorney oversight. The discussion will highlight how AI can support complex lending and transactional practices through more efficient knowledge management, document analysis and workflow execution.
Moderator:
- Lisa Schneider, Executive Vice President of Membership, LSTA
Speakers:
- Colleen Nihill, Chief AI and Knowledge Management Officer, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- Robyn Schneider, AI and Knowledge Management Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
CLE credits: 1
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Understanding Corporate Loan Market Liquidity
Record trading volumes and sudden AI-related software sell-offs are reshaping secondary loan market liquidity. This academic evaluation examines how volatility, supply-demand dynamics and settlement times impact market liquidity levels. Learn how asset traits – like price, rating, and size – drive not only loan-level liquidity and execution but also risk management, portfolio optimization and ultimate returns.
Speaker:
- Ted Basta, Executive Vice President of Market Analytics & Investor Strategy, LSTA
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
How to Settle Primary Allocations and Secondary Trades
In this session, we’ll examine credit agreement transfer provisions and primary allocation and par/near par trading documentation. You’ll get a basic primer on pricing calculations, along with a focus on some of the more complex pricing situations as well as best practices for primary and secondary trade settlement.
Speaker:
- Ellen Hefferan, Executive Vice President of Operations & Accounting, LSTA
CLE credits: 1
Thursday, July 30
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
State of the Loan Market: Trends in Defaults, LMEs and Market Outlook
The loan market continues to evolve amid shifting credit conditions and growing complexity in default activity. Join us and Fitch Ratings analysts for a timely mid-year review covering:
- Latest market trends – A data-driven look at current conditions across the broadly syndicated and private corporate credit loan markets
- Defaults – A review of the latest developments, including liability management exercises (LMEs) and key structural differences in private corporate credit default activity
- Market outlook – Fitch’s perspective for the asset class in the second half of the year
Moderator:
- Hugo Pereira, Vice President of Market Analytics & Investor Strategy, LSTA
Speakers:
Joshua Clark, Senior Director, Leveraged Finance, Corporates, Fitch Ratings
Brendan Hoelmer, Director, Leveraged Finance Group, Fitch Ratings
Lyle Margolis, Senior Director, Corporates, Fitch Ratings
CLE credits: 1