Legal & Documentation

What you need to know about originating and trading loans may be found here.  The basics of credit agreements, trading loans on standard LSTA agreements, and analysis of legal and regulatory trends are discussed.

Level 1

LSTA University Level 1
  • Glossary of Loan Market Terms

    A PDF glossary of syndicated loan market terms brought to you by Practical Law and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association.

  • 8 Things You Need to Know About Sustainable Finance

    While the majority of sustainable finance activity has been on the equities side, the fixed income markets have also seen the development of green and sustainability linked products. On the loans side, the US loan market saw its first green loans and sustainability linked loans in 2018. Here are eight things you need to know about loans in the ever-changing world of sustainable finance.

  • The LSTA's Complete Credit Agreement Guide, Second Edition
    Today’s syndicated loan market and underlying credit agreements are far more complex than ever.  Since the global financial crisis, the art of corporate loan syndications, loan trading, and investing in this asset class have changed dramatically.  Lenders are more diverse,  borrowers more demanding, and regulations more stringent.  Consequently, the credit agreement has evolved, incorporating many new provisions and a host of revisions to existing ones.  You can purchase your own copy at Amazon (click on the book) or Barnes & Nobles or you can download on iTunes.
  • Sustainable Lending Glossary of Terms

    We have worked with the LMA and APLMA to provide this Sustainable Lending Glossary of Terms. We hope that adopting a coordinated approach on the Glossary will promote the development, and use, of a common language surrounding green and sustainable lending across the globe.

  • Support for the IDP is Growing - And Can Include You! *New*

    The ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (ESG IDP) launched at the end of 2022—is a first-of-its-kind ESG harmonization effort for credit markets. The ESG IDP brings together leading lenders in the private credit and syndicated loan markets to improve transparency and accountability on ESG matters.

Level 2

LSTA University Level 2
  • Green Loan Principles

    The green loan market aims to facilitate and support environmentally sustainable economic activity.  The Green Loan Principles (GLP) have been developed by an experienced working party, consisting of representatives from leading financial institutions active in the syndicated loan market, with a view to promoting the development and integrity of the green loan product.

  • Distressed Trading Revisited

    With the default rate rising to a ten-year high in recent months, the U.S. secondary loan market has seen a commensurate increase in distressed trading volume. Although today’s distressed trading volume is far lower than the peak of $45 billion experienced during the 2008–09 “Global Financial Crisis”, there nevertheless has been a very sharp increase.

  • ESG: U.S. Regulation Begins to Take Shape

    The last eighteen months have seen ESG1 take hold in the loan market and, despite the COVID-19 crisis, ESG continues to be of increasing importance. This year there have been a number of exciting developments, from an industry response to calls for ESG information to further evolution in sustainable finance. Given the LSTA’s role in offering standardization to the loan market and our commitment to supporting market participants as they integrate ESG considerations into their processes and products, the LSTA has been at the forefront of many of these developments.

  • Sustainability Linked Loan Principles (SLLP)

    Sustainability linked loans aim to facilitate and support environmentally and socially sustainable economic activity and growth. The Sustainability Linked Loan Principles (SLLP) have been developed by an experienced working party, consisting of representatives from leading financial institutions active in the global syndicated loan markets.

  • ESG The Loan Market

    What does “ESG” mean? As a broad umbrella term “ESG” refers to the environmental, social and governance factors which contribute to a company’s sustainability profile and overall performance. However, ESG can be adopted in a multitude of ways

Level 3

LSTA University Level 3
  • Sustainability-Linked Loans: Financing the Green Transition

    This practice note provides an overview of sustainability-linked loans (SLL). Sustainability-themed debt instruments represent one response of the financial community to the need to channel capital towards facilitating a carbon transition.  A Lexis Practice Advisor Practice Note by Amara Gossin, Barclays and Robert Lewis, Sidley Austin.

  • The LSTA Form of Erroneous Payment Provision

    Many articles have been written already about the important decision of Judge Furman of the SDNY in In re Citibank August 11, 2020 Wire Transfers (a.k.a. “Revlon”). That decision raised a number of issues for the loan market, and the LSTA assisted the market in addressing those issues by drafting a new erroneous payment provision (“EPP”) for credit agreements to limit the risk of a Revlon type situation—where an agent bank mistakenly pays lenders and cannot recoup those funds—happening again. In this article, LSTA’s Bridget Marsh reviews the LSTA draft form of EPP.

  • 2023 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Secured Finance *New*
    The LSTA is delighted to announce that the 2023 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance, published by Global Legal Group, is now live and available to LSTA members online.  If you are interested in downloading the entire book in a PDF format, please go to this link, fill out the form and click on “Download PDF”.

    This eleventh edition provides a global analysis of common issues in lending and offers practical cross-border insight into lending and secured finance in 33 different jurisdictions. The guide is divided into two main sections. The first section includes 26 chapters that discuss different areas of secured lending and finance and related topics, including the LSTA’s own chapter  (written by Bridget Marsh, Executive VP and General Counsel, and Tess Virmani, Deputy General Counsel & Executive Vice President – Public Policy of the LSTA, Head of ESG) which provides an overview of the corporate loan market. The second section includes the Country Q&A chapters each of which addresses issues arising under the laws and regulations of lending and secured finance in one of 33 different jurisdictions around the globe.

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