Winston & Strawn Sponsors, Partners Speak at SFVegas 2024

Winston & Strawn was a proud sponsor of the SFVegas 2024 Conference. Winston attorneys from the Structured Finance and Fund Finance Practices that attended include Michelle Abad, Nolan Bolduc, Russell Casper, Claudine Chen-Young, Christopher Capitanelli, Francisco Flores, Chris Gavin, Sean Kelly, Paul Libretta, Michael Lyon, Mike Mullins, and Pete Morgan. 

The team also hosted a successful reception at the Barbershop on Sunday evening, with numerous clients and contacts in attendance.

Partners Nolan Bolduc and Francisco Flores spoke on the following panels:

KEY TAKEAWAYS

FinTech 101 — Francisco Flores

• Tighter Market: In the current environment capital is not as readily available, and creditors and investors have a wider choice of the fintech companies and platforms to fund.  As a result, covenants and triggers are tighter, there is a higher emphasis on structure and related safeguards (for example, existence of an independent backup servicer in place) and a closer monitoring of post-closing covenants.
• Diversify, Diversify, Diversify: Diversification is paramount for fintech companies and platforms.  Therefore, fintech companies and platforms should seek diversification in the source of capital (asset manager, banks, funds and others) and the type of transactions (equity capital, forward flows, warehouse lines, recurrent funding structures, securitizations, and others) being put in place.
• True Partnership: Fintech companies and platforms should cast a wide net among asset manager, banks, funds, and others for capital because it’s about choosing a true partner to support them through ups and downs over a period of years.
• Signs of improvement: Analysts are seeing better performance for newer asset vintages across classes throughout the market, as well as other signs that the market overall is improving, but optimism remains cautious.

Fund Finance 101— Nolan Bolduc

• The panelists discussed the fundamentals of today’s fund finance market; and
• the lifecycle of a typical credit fund, including the reasons for and timing of financing opportunities; and
• recent developments in fund finance, including the impact of interest rates, regulatory developments, and the onset of the so-called “Golden Era of Private Credit.”