About the Leveraged Finance Division
The activities of the Leveraged Finance Division are conducted through the European High Yield Association (now known as AFME / EHYA), which focuses on promoting transparency and liquidity in the high yield and leveraged loan markets. AFME / EHYA seeks to lower the costs of execution of high yield debt capital markets transactions, thereby lowering the cost of capital. The lack of any effective, formal legal proceeding in the UK for effecting restructurings of distressed companies with complex, multi-layer capital structures has lead AFME / EHYA to lobby for the reform of UK insolvency laws. Increasing the predictability of outcomes in restructurings will reduce the cost of capital to issuers and enable providers of capital to price risk more appropriately. In the long term, the division seeks the pan-European harmonisation of insolvency laws for cross-border corporate restructurings.
Leveraged Finance Division initiatives are generated by the members, approved by the board, and carried out by AFME staff working with teams of experts from member firms. The projects take a variety of forms, from informal discussion groups to formal responses to government consultations.
From 1 November 2009, information relevant to AFME / EHYA will be posted under the Leveraged Finance Division, and AFME / EHYA's former website, www.ehya.com, will no longer be updated.
Key Issues and Initiatives
- Improving disclosure by high yield issuers through the adoption of best practices;
- Responding to UK Government consultation on Company Rescue;
- Developing standardised legal documentation for underwriting high yield securities;
- Promoting the development of a pan-European electronic central repository for the filing of disclosure documents;
- Reducing inefficiency and counter-party risk in loan settlement; and
- Promoting education on current topics on the high yield and loan markets through public discussion forums and annual conference.
Organisation
The bank members of the board of directors of AFME / EHYA are heads of leveraged finance, or high yield capital markets, or their designates. Investor members are senior portfolio managers engaged in investing in high yield or loans. Advisor members are senior professionals engaged in leveraged finance or high yield capital markets.
Board of Directors
Eric Capp, RBS, Chairman
Philip Boeckman, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Vice-Chairman
Banks
David Ross, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Michael Moravec, Barclays
Arnaud Tresca, BNP Paribas
Youssef Khlat, Crédit Agricole CIB
Peter Charles, Citi
Mathew Cestar, Credit Suisse
Henrik Johnsson, Deutsche Bank
Ian Gilday, Goldman Sachs
Doug Clarisse, HSBC
Christopher Munro, J.P.Morgan
Mark Walsh, Morgan Stanley
Thomas Begley, Nordea
Tanneguy de Carne, Société Générale
Boris Okuliar, UBS
Investors
Martin Reeves, AllianceBernstein
Craig Abouchar, Axial Investments
Ian Spreadbury, FIL Limited
Gavin McKeown, Pioneer Investments
David Ross, Sankaty
Advisors
Tony Alvarez III, Alvarez & Marsal
Martin Gudgeon, Blackstone
John Connolly, Clifford Chance
Edward Eyerman, Fitch Ratings
Sarah Murphy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Tim Peterson, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
Joe Swanson, Houlihan Lokey
Richard Trobman, Latham & Watkins
Cecil Quillen III, Linklaters
Thomas Siebens, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Rick Ely, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
James Cole, Weil Gotshal & Manges
Rob Matthews, White & Case
Committees
Executive Committee
Forms Committee
Insolvency Reform Committee
Investor Issues Committee
Legal & Regulatory Committee
Market Practices Committee
Programmes & Events Committee
Contact
Gilbey Strub, Managing Director
gilbey.strub@afme.eu
+44 (0)20 7743 9334