The current administration’s legislative initiatives are largely bottled up in a split Congress, so the path toward achieving the White House’s policy priorities runs almost exclusively through the executive order and rule-making process and boy, have they worked it hard. 

But Santa is coming down the chimney delivering lumps of coal so often these days

On October 26, 2022, Dechert partners Laura Swihart and Stewart McQueen attended the CREFC Capital Markets Conference in New York City. Stewart gave opening remarks and Laura moderated a panel on the current housing market and its intersection with multi-family, single-family and build-to-rent properties. Laura and Stewart sat down with Law Clerks Jared Goldstein and

Recently, Dechert Partner Sarah Milam partook in an auto ABS panel discussion at ABS East in Miami, Florida.  Sarah and four distinguished panelists discussed the state of the ABS auto loan market, issuance, yields, collateral performance, ESG trends, and deal structures.  Sarah sat down with Associate Griffin Hamilton to recap the conference.
Continue Reading Auto ABS: Uncertainty and Excitement Ahead

CREFC January 2022 – it was supposed to be the comeback conference. Everyone was pumped to spend a few days down south, getting together with their safely vaccinated clients, colleagues and friends. Meetings, mingling and mild mayhem were on the Miami menu. But days before the conference, the dreaded COVID, or more specifically Omicron, continued to rear its ugly head and put a damper on the plans of many. Emails with “Are you still going to CREFC???” were flying as the days counted down to January 9. Although many conference attendees chose to attend virtually, hundreds took a chance and made it down to Miami to enjoy the conference in person. Luckily CREFC is now well-versed in how to put on a virtual show, and those who were unable to attend in person were able to enjoy the panels from their office (or couch…or bed…).
Continue Reading Ahhh… Miami! Sun, Sand and Commercial Real Estate

There’s a lot of reasons to structure a large loan destined for securitization as a mortgage in part and a mezzanine loan in part.  Sometimes it’s simply that the borrower is needy while the capital markets are charry.  In that case, the lender whacks up the credit into a mortgage loan for SASB execution and assumes (hopes) there’s someone out there with sufficient acumen, optimism or naivete to buy the mezzanine loan.  But sometimes, there are other reasons to divide a loan into a mortgage and mezz.
Continue Reading SASB: The (Shotgun?) Marriage of Mortgage and Mezz

Sharia law prohibits interest, naturally putting financial minds to work on how to build structures around this religious prohibition. But a recent ruling has found that such investment agreements do not qualify for safe harbor provisions of the bankruptcy code. Shmuel Vasser breaks down the 100 page long complex opinion concisely and clearly sharing with

The New Year is already proving to be a busy one. A new Congress, new COVID-19 strains and vaccine promises, and a new stimulus package making its way to American citizens and businesses. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law just before the New Year. And while the $600 checks being sent directly to the American people and the extension of additional unemployment benefits seems to have captured the national attention, the $900 billion relief package will provide support to much more than the personal pocketbook.
Continue Reading Highlights Of The Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill