Ashurst LLP's range of advice reflects the individual focus of practice heads Tobias Krug and Martin Kaiser; Krug often handles hybrid and convertible bonds as well as securitised and OTC derivatives and banking regulatory issues, while Kaiser, as head of the European securitisation team, frequently assists with matters related to the true sale securitisation of loan, lease and trade receivables. Most recently, these have mostly been car loans. Kaiser also handles German and European regulatory issues related to securitisation.

Baker McKenzie has recently been instructed by corporates and banks to securitise leasing, credit and trade receivables and to restructure them, which frequently entails cross-border elements. Under the leadership of Sandra Wittinghofer, the group has also increasingly handled matters pertaining to buy now pay later (BNPL). Here, the practice acts for large payment service providers as part of their external refinancing. Wittinghofer complements this with banking supervisory expertise, allowing for regulatory advice on financing platforms to be another part of her portfolio.

Clifford Chance continues to be a top address for structured finance and advises international clients on (synthetic) securitisation transactions, risk transfers, special financing, loan portfolio transactions and the implementation of securitisation platforms as well as their regulatory classification. This is complemented by expertise in asset tokenisation, among other matters. Clients - including asset managers, sponsors, banks and fintechs - particularly benefit from its close cooperation with offices in Luxembourg and London. Sectorally, the practice has recently been particularly active in the energy, infrastructure and fintech industries. Oliver Kronat (securitisation of trade, mail order, leasing and loan receivables; structuring of ABCP conduit programs) heads the practice, which also includes senior counsel Kerstin Schaepersmann (synthetic securitisations and other risk transfer transactions) and senior counsel Hannes Deusch (asset-based financing).

Financial institutions regularly instruct Dentons to handle securitisation transactions across a variety of asset classes, including the securitisation of loans, leasing and trade receivables, and even inflation-indexed leaseholds. Recently, practice head Arne Klüwer led several matters on supply chain finance and ABCP programs, while he was also tasked with restructuring distressed transactions; here, the group particularly focused on the infrastructure and energy sectors, while the real estate industry represents another regular interface.

At Hengeler Mueller, Martin Geiger, who divides his time between the London as well as the Frankfurt office, is the key contact for corporates and banks to advise on structured financing, in particular on the securitisation of leasing and loan portfolios. He also assists with related transactions, restructurings and refinancings. At the end of 2023, Stefan Krauss, who most recently advised on structured covered bonds, retired.

Banks and other financial services providers, as well as start-ups and companies, rely on Hogan Lovells International LLP's expertise in securitisation of various asset classes such as consumer loans, credit card receivables, leasing requirements and automotive financing as well as in related transactions. In this context, clients frequently seek assistance with sustainable financing and digital finance-related issues. With Jochen Seitz, among others, the team also covers the entire spectrum of regulatory issues arising from the sale of structured products; for instance, it routinely assists with updating and expanding issuing platforms as well as base prospectuses. The group is headed by Sven Brandt, whose expertise includes derivative instruments.

Linklaters' broad advice spectrum ranges from (synthetic) securitisations, special financing and NPL transactions to derivatives, which also represents focus areas for practice head Christian Storck, among others. He specialises in OTC derivatives, but further covers client clearing and netting issues. Barbara Lauer, Burkhard Rinne and counsel Jördis Heckt-Harbeck are among the key contacts for asset-based structured financing; Lauer and Heckt-Harbeck also manage portfolio and NPL transactions and their financing, and Rinne assists with securitisations, factoring and clearing, among other matters. In addition, clients, including banks, sponsors and companies, regularly rely on the team's expertise in ​​product, platform and payment infrastructure development.

White & Case LLP continues to be particularly adept in restructuring-related advice and within a distressed M&A context. The group recently handled a number of NPL transactions on European level, including portfolio sales and structured securitisations, while other matters concerned true sale securitisation transactions and synthetic securitisations of loans and asset-based financing. The practice routinely advises across borders - most recently in the Benelux and Northern Europe in particular - which is not least due to the international orientation of practice head Dennis Heuer, who, in addition to heading the German group, also co-leads the EMEA team for structured finance. He is also part of the firm-wide ESG practice and subsequently counts ESG components among his strengths.