In light of the end of the Brexit transition period, the LMA has reviewed its Core Trade Documentation and Secondary Confidentiality Letters. The LMA has published revised Terms and Conditions incorporating a bail-in clause (which is based on the LMA recommended form of bail-in clause). Additionally, the LMA has published revised forms of Secondary Confidentiality Letters which also now include a bail-in clause. These can be found on the pending page of the Documents and Guidelines section of the LMA website and will apply to all trades entered into on or after 1st January 2021.

The clock is ticking and, as we progress through the final year of LIBOR, key milestones to cease LIBOR lending are rapidly approaching. Regulators across the globe have reiterated that firms cannot rely on LIBOR being published after the end of 2021. They also cannot rely on legislation to solve the transition for them. This live webinar, presented by Kam Mahil and Keith Taylor of the LMA, will provide an update on transition since the previous webinar in September 2020.

The LMA has jointly published a Guide for Company Advisers to ESG Disclosure in Leveraged Finance Transactions (the Guide) with the European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA). The Guide has been drafted by a working group of senior legal and banking professionals and outlines for company advisers, including law firms, banks, and private equity sponsors, how to best integrate ESG information into offering materials and ongoing company reporting. The key topics covered in the Guide were discussed in an ESG workshop held in November 2020, which attracted over 85 senior professionals across law firms, banks, private equity sponsors, credit rating agencies, senior fund managers and trade associations.

In November 2020, we surveyed our membership on the outlook for the syndicated loan market over the next 12 months. The survey comprised 17 multiple choice questions covering the primary and secondary markets; real estate finance, the developing markets, green finance and FinTech specifically; and lastly regulation. The results were collected anonymously and represent the personal views of our members actively working in the loan market today. The commentary is provided by us and includes comparison, where possible, of the results from this year’s survey with those of the previous year.

LMA.Automate, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Loan Market Association, is delighted to announce that it has entered into a project contract with Allen & Overy and Avvoka, to establish a documentation automation platform in respect of certain LMA recommended form documents, as well as other ancillary services. Starting as a documentation automation service, the LMA.Automate platform will also have the functionality for negotiation and execution of loan documents to create a comprehensive collaboration tool over time.

On 18 November 2020, we published a note entitled "Documentary implications of the end of the Brexit transition period for LMA facility Documentation" ("Brexit Note") which consolidates and updates the earlier Brexit notes published in September 2016 and April 2019, as well as two EU legislative references destination tables. The Brexit Note and destination tables are intended to provide participants in the syndicated loan market with prior notice of the changes that will be made by the LMA to its English law facility documentation to take account of the end of the Brexit transition period.

The LMA has become aware of unauthorised activity on an archived copy of its website, which it is in the process of investigating. We understand that names and email addresses of members have been accessed, but not passwords which were protected by encryption, or any other personal data.

As a precautionary measure, we would advise that members change their LMA password and passwords on any sites where they use the same password as for their members' LMA log-in. You can change your password by logging into the LMA website with your username and password and then selecting Personal Profile in the top RHS of the website.