Kerion Ball

Partner

London

+44 20 7859 1529 | +44 7919 325 896

Kerion.Ball@ashurstperkins.com

Overview
Experience

Introduction

Kerion has a strong reputation for delivering commercially astute advice based on his deep and extensive knowledge of derivatives and structured finance.

Kerion Ball has broad experience across a wide range of OTC derivative and capital markets transactions with a particular focus on capital-driven transactions, including synthetic securitizations, other forms of synthetic risk transfer and a wide range of risk mitigation arrangements. He regularly advises clients on related elements of prudential capital rules, including providing opinions on bespoke netting, security and collateral arrangements and legal characterization issues.

Kerion also has extensive experience advising clients on strategic equity and commodity derivatives, trading and financing, as well as the regulatory frameworks applicable thereto.

Kerion was at the forefront of regulatory change projects impacting the derivatives markets, having acted for clients on large-scale EMIR variation and initial margin rule, UK bank ring-fencing, Brexit and IBOR transition implementation projects. He continues to advise clients on the full range of EMIR issues, including clearing and regulatory divergence between EU and UK regimes.

Professional Experience

A leading European bank | Advising its UK affiliate as originator on the establishment of its direct issuance SRT synthetic securitization program and advising it as arranger on issuances thereunder.
A leading European bank | Advising on two parallel funded SRT synthetic securitization transactions for affiliates on portfolios of lease receivables and providing comfort on STS and CRR compliance aspects of the transaction.
A major multilateral development bank | Advising the provider of credit risk protection to a French bank under an unfunded guarantee of a mezzanine tranche of credit losses on a revolving reference portfolio of eligible trade finance and corporate loan exposures.
A leading European bank | Advising on the simultaneous negotiation and execution of four credit risk insurance policies on an emerging market sovereign guaranteed financing. The insurance policies provided for bespoke coverage of loan and swap termination amounts covered by the sovereign guarantee as well as tailored claims processes and recoveries allocations reflecting complex mechanics in the financing documents.
A leading European bank | Advising on the establishment of and first issuance off a new repackaging program to repack insurance-covered lending to emerging markets sovereigns or quasi sovereigns. The initial transaction was a bespoke Islamic Murabaha financing co-funded by the arranger bank and covered by a composite form of insurance policy from a multilateral development bank.
A major European clearing house | Advising on netting and collateral arrangements and the enforceability of its securities financing transactions rulebook against English clearing participants and special clearing participants and providing opinion comfort on such matters.
A leading European bank | Advised on a series of multi-jurisdictional derivative format margin loans to an offshore SPE borrower guaranteed by its Middle-Eastern parent company secured on US and French listed shares held with US and French custodians.
A global investment bank | Advising on a prepaid accelerated share purchase agreement on shares of a multi-national UK listed company with up-front delivery of the same shares and a related margin loan financing secured on the same shares.
A major UK energy supplier | Advised on the purchase of all its power, gas, carbon and green certificates from an oil and gas major, a master trading agreement, the underlying energy and renewable energy certificates trading documents and the related security arrangements.
A US investment bank | Advised on a commodities financing program under which bank counterparties finance the acquisition and holding of traded metal at the bank's sponsored ABCP issuer's cost of funds through the ABCP issuer entering into spot metals purchases with market participants that are hedged under forward transactions with the bank counterparties.
Leading European Banks | Advising on large scale VM CSA and Phase 4, 5 and 6 IM implementation projects to comply with new margin rules comprising the negotiation of hundreds of CSAs and related documentation using an integrated team of derivative specialists, legal analysts, legal project managers and contract automation software.