Slaughter and May and the Association of Corporate Treasurers launch a sixth edition of the Borrower’s Guide to the LMA’s Investment Grade Agreements

International law firm Slaughter and May and the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT), the chartered body for treasury, have published a sixth edition of the ACT Borrower’s Guide to the LMA’s Investment Grade Agreements.

The ACT has worked with the Loan Market Association (LMA) on the development of the Investment Grade Agreement (and its revisions) since the project began in 1996. The Borrower’s Guide is produced by Slaughter and May for the ACT, to assist treasurers negotiating loan documentation based on the LMA’s recommended forms. The Guide is tailored for use by treasurers rather than lawyers. It provides an introduction to LMA terms for readers unfamiliar with the LMA’s market standard lending documentation plus in-depth commentary on the implications of the key clauses from the borrower’s point of view. It also covers key legal, regulatory and market developments affecting lending activity and terms.

Philip Snell, partner and Head of Financing at Slaughter and May, comments: “We have a longstanding relationship with the ACT and are delighted to have worked with them again on their Guide to the LMA’s Investment Grade Agreements. The sixth edition has been comprehensively updated to reflect current lending terms and market practice, providing essential background for treasurers on issues they might need to anticipate or take into account in current documentation negotiations. New features include chapters covering the documentation of loans referencing risk-free rates (RFRs) and the swift and continuing evolution of sustainability-linked lending products. The new edition also considers refinancing strategies and some of the documentation techniques and features that borrowers seeking to raise loan finance in a challenging market environment might consider.”

Sarah Boyce, Associate Director, Policy & Technical at the Association of Corporate Treasurers, comments: “There has been enormous change in loan market practice since the publication of the previous edition of the Borrower’s Guide in 2017, much of which will be relatively new to many treasurers who traditionally are not frequent issuers in this market. The ACT is very grateful for all of the hard work that the team at Slaughter and May have put into this very comprehensive update of the Guide. Whilst it is drafted with particular reference to the LMA Investment Grade Agreements, feedback on previous editions demonstrates that this is an invaluable resource for all treasurers considering putting in place a loan agreement, irrespective of the template being referred to and the ACT is delighted to add this to its library of publications to support the work of the treasury community.”

The ACT Borrower's Guide to the LMA's Investment Grade Agreements is available to view here.