James Tanner

James Tanner

Associate
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Practice Focus

James's practice focuses on debt capital markets, securitisation and portfolio sales/acquisitions of both distressed and non-distressed assets. He also has experience across a range of financing transactions and products, including sovereign advisory matters, cross-border restructurings, CLOs and has a rapidly expanding sustainable finance / green bonds practice.

Representative Legal Matters

NPL matters

  • Acted for a leading US private investment fund on NPL and other portfolio acquisitions

  • Acted for Piraeus Bank on its sale of €2.238 billion Greek non-performing unsecured retail consumer and credit cards to APS Investments

  • Advised consortium of asset managers in bid for portfolio of unsecured Greek NPLs being sold by PQH, the Single Special Liquidator for all 17 credit and financial institutions under special liquidation in Greece (Aeolus Portfolio)

Securitisations / CLOs

  • Represented arrangers in CLO issuances, refinancings and warehouses including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and GreensLedge (including the first post-crisis European CBO, AECF-1)

  • Transaction counsel on Sadera structured note issuance, repackaging Ghanaian government promissory notes issued to an Egyptian property developer into Regulation S Eurobonds

  • Advised Bank One Limited as arranger and swap provider on multiple USD/local currency swaps collateralised by local government bonds with the central banks of southern/east African countries, including participation agreements syndicating the transactions. African Legal Awards 2020 - Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year (Highly Commended)

Debt capital markets

  • Advised Standard Chartered Bank as structuring advisor and placement agent on the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA)'s ZAR 3 billion senior unsecured green bond private placement to PIMCO. GFC Media's Local Currency Sovereign, Supra & Agency Bond Deal of the Year (2022)

  • Advised Firmenich International SA, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and flavour company, on the financing of its acquisition of DRT via a debut EUR 1.5 billion dual-tranche eurobond plus a Swiss Franc offering, followed by its debut EUR 750 million Hybrid Capital Bonds (Deeply Subordinated Resettable Perpetual Notes) (Shortlisted for Deal of the Year (IFLR Europe Awards); Finance team of the year (The Lawyer Awards); Finance Team of the Year (Legal Business Awards))

  • Advised Akbank on the issuance of the first post-COVID Turkish green bond

  • Represented Ukranian state banks Ukreximbank and Oschadbank on the restructuring of their loan participation note programmes pursuant to the IMF programme for Ukraine

  • Advised Standard Chartered Bank/Dealers/JLMs on an update, drawdown and tap of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) USD 1 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme


Professional Honors

Admissions

  • Republic of Ireland (2019)
  • England & Wales (2012)

Education

  • University of Oxford (B.A., Law with Law Studies in Europe) (2009)
  • Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas (Erasmus Programme) (2008)