What a year…

Our annual Deals of the Year Awards were certainly an interesting event. While the beginning of the year opened in gloom and crisis, the end of the year was marked by considerably more activity than a year earlier.

We were therefore worried: what would happen if we received too few submissions for Deals of the Year? What if not enough deals were really up to standard?

This year, for the first time, we put together an independent panel of judges to decide the winning deal. Hence, if they said that there were no deals worthy of an award, we would have had to have had a sharp change of plans for this month’s TFR.

Happily, there were sufficient deals of interest and quality for our judges to vote on, although there were some complaints over the quality of some submissions:

“A triumph of hope over experience.”

“Did I miss something here? Sorry, this is not serious.”

And a few others that were even more direct.

Happily, there was a real contest for the Awards – some excellent deals were concluded last year – and a close final round of voting to decide the final winners.

I would like to personally thank all the judges who participated for the time and effort they put into the judging process: Bernard Zonneveld, Jeremy Shaw, Bruce Proctor, Nicholas Shaw, Patrik Zekkar, Jean-Francois Lambert, Rudolf Putz, John Turnbull, Colin Heritage and Rollo Tomasi.

We also had a special category to cover the Rusal ‘Restructuring of the Year’, which I hope you enjoy. Full results to be published shortly...

Graeme Burton
Editor

Features

Restructuring of the year: Rusal's test of metal This article is for subscribers only
The Rusal debt restructuring was one of the biggest the world has ever seen. But thanks to the professional approach by international lenders – and the client – the outcome was positive for everyone involved.

Regulars

Omni Bridgeway commentary, February 2010 This article is for subscribers only
In March 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursed about $200m to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to protect the country from the worst effects of the global economic crisis.

Omni Bridgeway: Emerging market debt pricing This article is for subscribers only
The latest emerging market debt pricing figures from specialists Omni Bridgeway.

Marsh: Credit Risk Appetite for Emerging Markets – February 2010 This article is for subscribers only
To start the year, we have seen minor price reductions in the lower pricing thresholds for Nigeria, Brazil, China and South Korea, and a minor increase for Sri Lanka. As before, many underwriters remain cautious about insuring trade assets in Sudan, Venezuela, Ecuador, Pakistan and Ukraine.

60-second interview: Sal Chiappinelli This article is for subscribers only
Forfaiter Sal Chiappinelli talks to TFR about the Kazakhstan banking workout, the prospects for forfaiters in an uncertain economic climate and the latest in Swiss Forfaiting’s long-running saga with Portuguese bank BPN.

The art of forfaiting: One step closer Free
Uniform Rules for Forfaiting have moved a step closer following the third meeting of the Drafting Group in late January. By Richard Willsher.

Market view: Easterly trade winds This article is for subscribers only
While the major developed economies have emerged slowly from recession, with trade still depressed, the major economies of Asia are forging ahead, according to Tan Kah Chye at Standard Chartered.