Olivier Bazin
Partner
About Olivier
Olivier leads the Restructuring and Finance team in Geneva and is head of the firm’s global Banking and Finance practice. With a particular focus on commodities trading and shipping, he regularly advises trading houses, corporates and financial institutions on their bilateral, club and syndicated financings (transactional trade finance, borrowing base, RCF, guarantee and LC facilities, prepayments, margin loans, project finance, export finance and reserve-based lending), and risk transfers through discounting, risk purchase, sub-participations, securitisations and portfolio sales. Olivier also advises on collateral management and warehouse arrangements, inventory finance and repos. His practice covers transactional “new money” deals as well as debt restructuring, enforcement and fraud (civil and criminal). Olivier also advises clients on shipping transactional matters. Prior to HFW Olivier was at BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA where he held legal and commercial positions.
Olivier’s recent experience includes:
advising a major Swiss bank on recovery of a defaulted loan to an English metals trader including advising on recovery options against the UBO/ CEO personally in the tort of deceit and acquiring office-holder claims against the UBO / CEO from the joint liquidators.
advising a major Swiss bank on various pre-contentious trade finance situations, involving bank guarantees and (stand-by) letters of credit and other instruments confirmed /honoured / negotiated under UCP600, ISP98 and other rules.
advising a major European bank on restructuring and security enforcement in connection with a USD 50m trade finance exposure to a large international oil trading house headquartered in UAE – including dealing with Chief Restructuring Officer and Quantuma as the company’s restructuring advisers, contingency planning for UAE insolvency, enforcement against assigned debtors, advice on trade credit insurance policies, cargo misdelivery claims (including ship arrests) against shipowners and advice on complex letter of credit arrangements and payment entitlements under UCP 600 and ISP98.
advised a Swiss trade finance bank on a USD 30 Million uncommitted revolving credit line being made available to Czarnikow Group Limited to finance the purchase of agricultural commodities, including sugar, whilst in transit and in storage. The bank also provided accounts receivables financing and clean line financing relating to the trading activities of the borrower. The facility was made available by way of credit instruments and loans. The bank has taken security over the borrower’s account in Switzerland with future option to take security over sugar stocks in Thailand, Brazil and Kazakhstan.
acted as Swiss counsel to the bank on a $15m full-recourse sugar prepayment facility for a sugar trading house to finance the storage and purchase of sugar in South Africa.
advised several Swiss-based international manufacturers and commodity traders on receivables discounting agreements under which banks (Netherlands, UK, Singapore) purchase on a committed (on an uncommitted) basis certain current and future receivables from major customers at a discount up to a limit to be agreed, subject to said receivables meeting certain eligibility criteria. In some cases this involves analysis of recourse provisions and issuance of a “true sale” opinion in a format to satisfy off-balance sheet accounting treatment. Another key legal aspect of these discounting arrangements is how to deal with credit-insured receivables and, if ADM is required to retain skin in the game, how this is structured and analysed.
advised a soft commodity trader on its USD 17 million long-term loan from Dutch Development Bank FMO to fund capital expenditure in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Colombia including monitoring and reporting on environmental and social action plans, and on development impacts.
advising a syndicate of lenders led by MUFG Bank London on a USD 350m limited recourse prepayment facility to Trafigura to finance future deliveries of copper cathodes from the Swiss trading arm of Norilsk Nickel. HFW acted as English and Swiss counsel with support from Asia Legal in Singapore and Integrites in Moscow. The initial USD 250m facility on which Olivier advised won “TXF Large Trader Deal of the Year” 2018.
advising green coffee trader Sucafina on its sustainability-linked USD 740m syndicated secured borrowing base facility with 11 banks led by ING Bank and security in 11 jurisdictions across Europe, Asia and America. The initial facility on which Olivier advised in 2017 won market recognition as “TXF Overall Commodities Finance Deal of the Year”.
advising Massoel Shipping SA on eight separate vessel sales (including the provision of escrow and completion services). These sales represented almost 50% of the Swiss maritime fleet.
advising Sucafina on its USD 240m pre-export financing facility for Brazil green coffee exports, with a club of 4 banks led by Rabobank. The initial facility on which Olivier advised won “TXF Soft Commodities Deal of the Year” in 2018.
advising a Geneva commodity bank on a USD 50m prepayment facility to the Geneva trading arm of a Russian refinery, supported by a guarantee and security assignment. HFW acted as English and Swiss counsel on the transaction.
advising a Geneva oil trading major on a strategic USD 3bn crude oil prepayment facility to a NOC and on associated limited recourse / SPV financing and security arrangements with 20 banks led by Societe Generale and ING.
advising the STF teams at international grain majors on a wide range of legal structures and transactions including transit trades, structured Letters of Credit, receivables purchase and trade credit insurance. Olivier also advises on commodity derivatives transactions including insolvency and regulatory issues arising in the relevant jurisdictions.
Over his 20 year career Olivier has worked in all commodity sectors (metals, softs and energy) and is particularly experienced in emerging markets (Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America). He is bilingual in English and French and also works in Spanish, Dutch and Russian. Olivier is qualified in England and Wales.