Geoffrey Wynne is head of the Trade & Export Finance Group and Sullivan's London office. He has extensive experience in banking and finance, specifically corporate and international finance, bank mergers, acquisitions, conversions and restructurings, trade and structured trade and commodity finance, structured finance, asset and project finance, syndicated lending, equipment leasing, workouts and financing restructuring, leveraged and management buy-outs and general commercial matters.
Geoff is one of the leading trade finance lawyers and has advised extensively many of the major trade finance banks around the world on trade and commodity transactions in virtually every emerging market including CIS, Far East, India, Africa and Latin America. He has worked on many structured trade transactions covering such diverse commodities as oil, nickel, steel, tobacco, cocoa and coffee.
Representative Client Work
- Advised over a number of years the lead arrangers to the annual Ghana Cocoa Board cocoa crop financing. The annual value of the financing has been in excess of $1 billion and up to $2 billion
- Advised lenders in a pre export financing to Creativ Group in Ukraine
- Advised a leading UK bank on its standard form trade finance documents
- Advised different lenders in import facilities for crude oil and refined products into Ghana
- Advised a leading UK bank on queries relating to letters of credit and other trade instruments on a virtual secondment basis and provided a help desk for small queries to be used by telephone and email
- Advised a major US bank on a $1 billion letter of credit to be used in an acquisition of a Brazilian oil company and then on subsequent financings involving those letter of credit proceeds
- Advised a major US bank on a financing to a European bank of its trade finance portfolio of loans
Bar & Court Admissions
- Solicitor, Senior Courts of England and Wales
Professional Qualifications
- Solicitor, Senior Courts of England and Wales, 1975
Education
- The College of Law
- Christ Church, Oxford University, BA (Jurisprudence)
Awards & Honors
- Lexology "Client Choice" — Banking (2019)
- The Legal 500 UK - "Hall of Fame" (2018, 2020-2021)
- Trade & Forfaiting Review Awards, Fellowship Award (2017)
- Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, Commodities (2009-2021)
- The Legal 500 UK, Trade Finance - London - "Leading Individual" (2014-2021)
- IFLR1000, Highly-Regarded, Bank Lending: Lender Side (2017-2021)
- Chambers Global, Corporate/M&A - UK (Foreign Experts) (2013); Corporate/Commercial - Africa-wide (2014-2015)
- Chambers UK, Commodities: Trade Finance (UK-wide) (2013-2021)
-
Press ReleaseDecember 9, 2020
-
Press ReleaseOctober 22, 2020
-
LexisNexisOctober 16, 2020
-
Press ReleaseOctober 1, 2020
-
Client AlertAugust 21, 2020
-
Practical Lending and Security Precedents (2020)August 1, 2020
-
Global Trade Review (GTR), QuotedJuly 14, 2020
-
Global Trade Review DirectoryJuly 9, 2020
-
Press ReleaseJune 9, 2020
-
LexisNexisMay 20, 2020
-
Client AlertMay 5, 2020
-
FlowMay 1, 2020
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedApril 22, 2020
-
Client AlertApril 17, 2020
-
Client AlertApril 16, 2020
-
Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawApril 2020
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedApril 1, 2020
-
Client AlertMarch 30, 2020
-
LexisPSLMarch 18, 2020
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedFebruary 19, 2020
-
Press ReleaseOctober 10, 2019
-
September 27, 2019
-
Sullivan Press ReleaseSeptember 5, 2019
-
Payables Finance: a guide to working capital optimisation, QuotedAugust 2019
-
Trade Finance MagazineSummer 2019
-
DB Trade Finance TV – in association with Deutsche Bank’s flow magazineJuly 12, 2019
-
Global Trade Review DirectoryJuly 10, 2019
-
Sullivan Press ReleaseJune 28, 2019
-
tradeXplain, QuotedJune 27, 2019
-
Trade Finance TalksJune 4, 2019
-
Sullivan Press ReleaseMay 24, 2019
-
Sullivan Press ReleaseMay 24, 2019
-
Sullivan Press ReleaseMay 3, 2019
-
TXF NewsMarch 20, 2019
-
Press ReleaseFebruary 14, 2019
-
AltFi, QuotedFebruary 12, 2019
-
Deutsche Bank's FlowNovember 2018
-
IFLR1000November 12, 2018
-
November 1, 2018
-
Global Trade Review DirectoryOctober 31, 2018
-
October 30, 2018
-
TXF News, QuotedOctober 3, 2018
-
Flow MagazineOctober 2018
-
Trade FinanceSeptember 27, 2018
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedSeptember 12, 2018
-
Press ReleaseSeptember 4, 2018
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedAugust 14, 2018
-
Press ReleaseJuly 26, 2018
-
TXF NewsMay 17, 2018
-
Trade Finance MagazineMarch/April 2018
-
TXF News, QuotedApril 27, 2018
-
Press ReleaseFebruary 15, 2018
-
FinextraFebruary 14, 2018
-
Press ReleaseNovember 27, 2017
-
November 2, 2017
-
FLOW MagazineOctober 17, 2017
-
October 11, 2017
-
Press ReleaseOctober 9, 2017
-
TFRAugust 1, 2017
-
The Manufacturer, QuotedJuly/August 2017
-
Press ReleaseJuly 6, 2017
-
Rethinking Trade & Finance 2017July 6, 2017
-
Into AfricaJune 2017
-
Press ReleaseMay 24, 2017
-
Trade FinanceMarch/April 2017
-
Trade & Forfaiting ReviewMarch 2017
-
January 21, 2017
-
News GhanaNovember 25, 2016
-
November 3, 2016
-
TXF Daily News, QuotedSeptember 27, 2016
-
Press ReleaseSeptember 22, 2016
-
Trade and Forfaiting ReviewSeptember 14, 2016
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedSeptember 14, 2016
-
September 14, 2016
-
Trade Finance and Euromoney: 17th Annual Global Export Finance Conference 2016September 13, 2016
-
Press ReleaseAugust 9, 2016
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedJuly 15, 2016
-
Press ReleaseJuly 14, 2016
-
June 24, 2016
-
June 24, 2016
-
The Wall Street Journal, QuotedJune 5, 2016
-
TFRMay 4, 2016
-
Trade & Forfaiting ReviewMarch 18, 2016
-
Trade & Export FinanceJanuary 28, 2016
-
Press ReleaseNovember 25, 2015
-
October 15, 2015
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedSeptember 22, 2015
-
September 18, 2015
-
September 16, 2015
-
Global Trader Guide to Global MarketsJuly 2015
-
Press ReleaseJune 24, 2015
-
Trade & Forfaiting Review, QuotedJune 20, 2015
-
Trade & Export Finance, QuotedJune 19, 2015
-
Press ReleaseJune 12, 2015
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedMay 7, 2015
-
Press ReleaseMay 6, 2015
-
Trade & Forfaiting Review, QuotedApril 2, 2015
-
October 1, 2014
-
Global Trade Review, QuotedSeptember 24, 2014
-
Press ReleaseSeptember 16, 2014
-
Trade & Forfaiting Review, QuotedSeptember 12, 2014
-
Simbas Earn their Stripes and Forfaiters Change their Spots at the ITFA 2014 Conference in BarcelonaTrade & Forfaiting Review, QuotedSeptember 12, 2014
-
Press ReleaseJune 16, 2014
-
Trade & Forfaiting ReviewMay 2, 2014
-
Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawFebruary 2014
-
Contributor and Editor, "A Practitioner's Guide to Trade and Commodity Finance"Sweet and Maxwell
-
Contributor, "Developing Loan Markets" (LMA)
Seminars & Presentations
- What 2021 Holds In Store For Trade and Commodity Finance
Trade & Export Finance Webinar (January 21, 2021) - Libor Transition: Implications for Trade Finance
International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) Webinar (November 27, 2020) - BAFT Master Participation Agreement (MPA) Workshop
The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (September 8, 2020) - Revolutionizing the Trade Landscape: Digital Trade Payment Obligation
International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) Webinar (July 16, 2020) - Legal Framework – UK Law
International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) Webinar (June 19, 2020) - Credit Insurance Policy Wording – Do You Know What You Have and Why?
International Trade & Forfaiting Association (ITFA) Webinar (May 29, 2020) - Financing Trade During The Pandemic
Member Briefing (March 27, 2020) - Other technology disruptors – what’s coming over the horizon
BCR RFIx - Receivables Finance International Convention (March 10, 2020) - ITFA Fintech Event And Networking
International Trade and Forfaiting Association and Finnish Fintech Ecosystem (February 27, 2020) - How would you address current issues when documenting trade finance transactions?
Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar (February 20, 2020) - BCR Supply Chain Finance Summit
BCR Publishing (January 30, 2020) - Fintech in Trade Finance – Where are We?
Le Restaurant de Paul, London (November 28, 2019) - 29th Annual Conference on International Trade
The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (October 25, 2019) - How to structure your transactions without taking security
(September 19, 2019) - The New ITFA Unfunded Master Risk Participation Agreement
Budapest, Hungary (September 4, 2019) - Trade finance — where do we go from here?
(June 20, 2019) - ITFA German Regional Committee Stammtisch Event
International Trade and Forfaiting Association (June 6, 2019) - Should I, shouldn’t I? Answering some of the tricky legal and drafting questions we often get asked
Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar (May 29, 2019) - TXF Global Commodity Finance: Amsterdam 2019
Trade and Export Finance (TXF) (May 23, 2019) - Global Trade Review UK 2019
Global Trade Review (GTR) (May 8, 2019) - Latest Legal Updates on Fintech in Commodity Trade Finance
R3 (February 27, 2019) - Market Adoption of New BAFT MRPA
ITFA NERC Seminar (February 27, 2019) - Thoughts from 2018 for structuring trade and related financings – avoiding pitfalls and getting deals done
Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar (December 13, 2018) - The Current Impact of the European Regulations on Structured Commodity Trade Deals
The Global Commodity Trade Finance Forum, Berlin (November 29, 2018) - Audience Response Survey: Your Thoughts on the Industry
Hôtel Métropole Genève, Genève, Switzerland (November 9, 2018) - Is Nigeria in rude health?
GTR Africa Trade & Infrastructure Finance Conference 2018 (October 30, 2018) - Fintech in Trade and Trade Finance — legal issues now and going forward
(October 24, 2018) - ITFA Insurance Committee Seminar
ITFA Paris Seminar (October 10, 2018) - Private Insurance and Viable Risk Mitigation Alternatives To Export Credit Agencies
28th BAFT Annual Conference on International Trade (September 27, 2018) - The new BAFT Master Participation Agreement (English law version) -- All you need to know!
Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar (September 20, 2018) - The BAFT MRPA reloaded – the revised BAFT – ITFA Master Participation Agreement
International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) (September 5, 2018) - How can careful drafting in documents remove or mitigate risk of regulatory non-compliance?
(July 24, 2018) - Uses of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in structuring financing transactions
(June 21, 2018) - Recapping Receivables
(May 24, 2018) - Regulatory and Compliance Headwinds (and Crosswinds) for 2018
New Broad Street House, 35 New Broad Street, London EC2M 1NH (March 29, 2018) - What Structures and Techniques Can Still Work in Trade and Commodity Finance?
New Broad Street House, 35 New Broad Street, London EC2M 1NH (January 26, 2018) - A Wish List and a Watch List for 2018 — Beneficial or Detrimental Impacts on Trade Finance?
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (December 14, 2017) - Risk and Derisking — What Risk Should Really Mean for Banks in Trade Finance and How to Mitigate Them
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (November 23, 2017) - Letters of Credit from Basics and Beyond to the Current Issues
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1EN (June 15, 2017) - Developments Involving FinTech and BlockChain Initiatives
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (May 18, 2017) - Risk Sharing Techniques - Similarities, Differences and Consequences
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (March 23, 2017) - Relationships In and Around Letters of Credit and What to Watch Out For
Pinners Hall 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (February 23, 2017) - Some of Those Annoying Technical Issues in Trade Finance
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (January 26, 2017) - Where Are We On Some Current Trade-Related Issues?
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street (December 15, 2016) - How Far Can Digitalisation End Paper-based Trade Finance? To What Extent Is It Happening Now?
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (October 27, 2016) - Restructurings Involving Trade Finance Obligations
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (June 23, 2016) - Can you take the risk out of trade finance and, if not, how can you deal with risks?
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (May 26, 2016) - Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar Thoughts on the uses for insurance products in trade finance
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (April 20, 2016) - Ten Pointers for Trade Finance in 2016
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (January 21, 2016) - Problems and solutions in cross-border receivables transactions
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (September 8, 2015) - Current Developments and Issues in the Trade and Commodities Finance World
Sullivan & Worcester Conference Center, New York, NY (June 16, 2015) - Sullivan & Worcester's Article 194 opinion on the BAFT Master Participation agreement
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (May 28, 2015) - When is a sale of commodities not a true sale?
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (April 23, 2015) - Financing Goods In and Out of Warehouses: What Issues to Look For, Deal With and Avoid
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (March 26, 2015) - Likely Issues Affecting Trade Finance in 2015 and How to Respond
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London (February 19, 2015)
- Numerous seminars on Trade and Commodity Finance Issues
- Seminars on Forfaiting, including the Uniform Rules for Forfaiting
Practices
- Trade & Export Finance
- Finance
- Corporate
- Securitization
- COVID-19 Resource Center
- Real Estate, Alternative & Offshore Investment Funds
Industries
- Upcoming EventJanuary 21, 2021 | Trade & Export Finance Webinar