Derivatives in Bankruptcy: Safe Harbors, Dodd-Frank, and the Orderly Liquidation Authority

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Bankruptcy
- event Date
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will discuss the treatment of derivatives in bankruptcy. The panel will discuss the exemptions historically afforded derivatives before the financial crisis, the ramifications of those exemptions as shown in the Lehman and MF Global bankruptcies, and the current framework which exists after Dodd-Frank to address insolvency risks in derivatives products.
Faculty

Mr. McLaughlin is a corporate partner resident in Fried Frank’s New York office, where he is a member of the Asset Management and Financial Services Practices. He is head of the Firm’s Derivatives Practice and a leading practitioner in derivative transactions of all types, including futures, over-the-counter derivatives and cleared swaps, as well as related collateral, guarantee, custody and other credit support arrangements. Mr. McLaughlin also maintains a leading practice in repurchase, securities lending and prime brokerage and other types of trading agreements, as well as structured products, synthetic equity and fund-linked investments, credit extensions, loan trading and derivatives claim trading. His clients include hedge funds, private equity funds, investment management firms, investment and commercial banks, mutual funds, individual investors, corporations and government-sponsored entities. Mr. McLaughlin regularly advises market participants on legislative and regulatory developments concerning futures, derivatives, cleared swaps, bankruptcy and insolvency safe harbors, and market structure and facilities.

Mr. Rose leads the firm’s Reorganization & Bankruptcy Department. He has three decades of experience in bankruptcy and distressed situations having been actively involved in many of the nation’s largest bankruptcies, representing landlords, tenants, lenders, financial institutions, domestic and foreign banks, acquirers, investors, debtors and creditors. Mr. Rose’s experience with distressed real estate and real estate-owning entities in bankruptcy includes his representation of Olympia and York and VMS NHP in their chapter 11 bankruptcies. Mr. Rose also has significant experience in international and cross-border insolvencies, restructurings and workouts. He is a frequent author and lecturer on bankruptcy law topics.

Mr. Kalbaugh’s practice areas include derivatives and banking law. Previously, he served as executive director, counsel and chief U.S. data protection officer at WestLB, chairing WestLB’s global Dodd-Frank and Underwriting Task Forces. Mr. Kalbaugh serves on the New York City Bar Association’s committee on the regulation of futures and derivatives, chairs the CLE sub-committee and is past chair of the over-the-counter derivatives sub-committee. Mr. Kalbaugh is also a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Derivatives and Structured Products Law Committee, a founding board member of the Forum for Global Financial Regulation, and a past board member and officer of the Center for Transactional Legal Studies, the organization responsible for publishing the treatise Regulation of Foreign Banks. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on derivatives and banking law topics, and is the author of the casebook, “Derivatives Law and Regulation.” Mr. Kalbaugh is also a special professor of law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.
Description
The Bankruptcy Code exempts financial derivatives and repurchase agreements from crucial provisions, such as the automatic stay. As a result, derivatives contracts historically could be liquidated even after the bankruptcy of one of the counterparties. The Lehman and other financial crisis era bankruptcies led to questions about whether these safe harbors might increase the vulnerability of the financial markets, particularly in the event of a large financial institution's bankruptcy and the resultant unwind of its financial contracts. Dodd-Frank attempted to address these vulnerabilities, in part, through the creation of the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA).
The OLA is intended to ameliorate systemic risk by resolving a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) under special, accelerated rules instead of bankruptcy. In addition to the OLA, the Dodd-Frank Act and related CFTC and SEC rules forced the restructure of the derivatives market in part to reduce the risks to the derivatives market of the failure of a large financial institution. Counsel advising clients who engage in derivatives products must carefully consider the impact of these structural and regulatory changes.
Listen as our authoritative panel of attorneys analyzes the current regulatory framework governing the treatment of derivatives contracts after a bankruptcy filing, including the interaction of the OLA with bankruptcy proceedings. The panel discussion will include the Lehman and other financial crisis era bankruptcies and whether Dodd-Frank and OLA have adequately addressed the insolvency risks associated with derivatives products.
Outline
- Historical treatment of derivatives and systemic risk: Lehman and the financial crisis
- How Dodd-Frank addressed insolvency risks associated with derivatives
- Treatment of collateral under Dodd-Frank; segregation and mandatory margining
- Portability of positions and collateral
- Clearing requirements
- OLA's ability to take over and accelerate resolution SIFI assets
- Role of protocols
- Added risks from the Dodd-Frank structure
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- What are the special rights that the bankruptcy accords to parties to financial contracts?
- What is the justification for the bankruptcy safe harbors afforded derivatives under the Bankruptcy Code?
- Did these safe harbors contribute to systemic risk to the financial system during the Great Recession?
- How does the current regulatory framework under Dodd-Frank impact the design and enforcement of derivatives contracts?
- What special capabilities are granted to the OLA under Dodd-Frank, and what new risks are presented in the context of the bankruptcy of a counterparty?
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