Michael Best advises dealers and end users on a full range of derivative products throughout the entire derivatives lifecycle, including regulatory compliance, transaction documentation, and enforcement.
Counseling Bank Clients
We serve as primary outside counsel to national, regional, and community banks throughout the United States for their derivatives product lines, including counsel on customer documentation and Dodd-Frank compliance.
Efficiently and cost-effectively, we prepare and negotiate International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) documents for our clients’ interest rate portfolios. We work with loan counsel to ensure that the swap obligations are secured by the same collateral as the loan. In addition, we work with the bank’s upstream dealer on its back-to-back trades, including negotiating the ISDA Master Agreement, Schedule, and Credit Support Annex. Our team also helps local and regional banks establish flexible treasury risk management tools with Master Securities Forward Trading Agreements (MSFTAs) and Master Repurchase Agreements (MRAs).
We also provide guidance on the evolving regulatory issues facing our bank clients, such as compliance with rules on the conduct of swap dealers, eligible contract participants, clearing, swap execution facilities, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, and the municipal advisor rules. We provide in-house training and webinars on these and other derivatives-related topics.
Advising Investors and Asset Managers
Our team provides comprehensive legal and business risk guidance to traders and investors in derivatives and financial products. From startups to multi-billion-dollar managers, we advise hedge funds, proprietary traders, family offices, ERISA fiduciaries and funds, and registered investment advisors, helping them manage portfolio finance risk on a wide array of investment product agreements, including:
- Prime Brokerage Agreements
- Margin Financing Lockups
- ISDA Master Agreements
- Equity Swaps and Master Confirmations
- Structured Derivatives Transactions
- Futures and Options Agreements
- Master Repurchase Agreements
- Securities Lending Agreements