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(London and New York) – Sullivan has advised BAFT (the Bankers Association for Finance & Trade) and ITFA (the International Trade and Forfaiting Association) on the publication of the two Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) legal opinions covering the 2008 English law Master Participation Agreement (MPA).

The newly released opinions comprise the EU CRR opinion on English law MPA 2008 and the UK CRR opinion on English law MPA 2008. They are intended for institutions that continue to use the 2008 version of the MPA, having executed it prior to the introduction of the later versions.

The publication of these two legal opinions completes the suite of updated CRR legal opinions that Sullivan has prepared for BAFT and ITFA, following the release of the updated opinions covering the other English law MPAs, New York law MPAs and the Surety MPAs earlier this year, which can be read in full, here.

Importantly, these opinions note that eligibility for credit risk mitigation (CRM) may only apply if the Participant shares in the fraud risk in the optional wording of Clause 11.

As the 2008 English law MPA has long since been superseded, ITFA has announced that these are the final legal opinions that will be issued in respect of that document, reflecting both the age of the underlying template and the increasing difficulty of providing a clean opinion where one of the optional wordings is adopted.

Geoffrey Wynne, head of Sullivan’s Trade & Export Finance Group, commented: “We are pleased to have continued our long-standing work with BAFT and ITFA advising on these CRR legal opinions for the 2008 English law MPA. Their publication completes the current suite of opinions available to members and provides support for institutions that continue to use the earlier version of the agreement. It is hoped that institutions will pay heed to reservations and react accordingly.”

The Sullivan team advising BAFT and ITFA includes partners Geoffrey Wynne and Marian Boyle in London and partner Natalie Lederman in New York.

About Sullivan

Sullivan & Worcester (Sullivan) is a global law firm with lawyers in Boston, London, New York, Tel Aviv and Washington, D.C. Sullivan’s clients, including Fortune 500 companies, leading financial services firms and asset managers, boards of directors and emerging businesses, rely on Sullivan’s ability to navigate complex legal and operational landscapes and its commitment to best in class client service.

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