Ashurst advised an international dealer group led by WestLB AG as arranger in connection with the establishment of the €20bn debt issuance programme (DIP) by Erste Abwicklungsanstalt, Dusseldorf (EAA).

Ashurst advised with a team led by Frankfurt debt capital markets partner Christoph Enderstein including associates Dr Tanja Richter and Roswitha Altenbuchner. 

Christoph Enderstein’s team regularly advises investment banks and issuers in connection with national and international capital market transactions, in particular in connection with bonds, securitised derivatives, German Schuldschein loans and a wide variety of debt issuance programmes as well as related regulatory questions.

The DIP of EAA presents a framework agreement for the recurring and flexible issuance of medium and long-term bearer and registered notes. It allows EAA to cover its refinancing needs by issuing a wide variety (as to currencies, interest rate and redemption structures and maturities) of notes.

EAA has been incorporated as a public law entity with partial legal capacity operating under the umbrella of the Financial Market Stabilisation Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzmarktstabilisierung – FMSA). Its function is to take over and wind up WestLB’s risk exposures and non-strategic businesses/assets in order to stabilise WestLB and the financial market.