In Australia’s increasingly competitive and regulated banking and financial market, Diamond Conway’s Banking and Finance team provides comprehensive services to lenders, borrowers, advisors, sponsors and other intermediaries in the banking and finance sector. Our long standing expertise in this area ensures our clients’ transactions are conducted seamlessly, with a strong commitment to minimising the risks and uncertainty that may be associated with these transactions.
Our Banking and Finance team boasts a dynamic combination of experience and youth, which is recognised for its outstanding client services and astute legal advice. The team is headed by Peter Carkagis. Peter was admitted as a lawyer in 1977 and has had over 30 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry. Peter has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial and retail banking and finance law. He has advised banks and other financial institutions in relation to domestic and overseas lending, securities enforcement and workouts. Peter has also been actively involved in the development of the mortgage banking and securitisation industry.
Diamond Conway acts for a range of financial institutions. Additionally, our Banking and Finance lawyers regularly act for borrowers and sponsors on large and/or complex finance and debt structuring transactions, including corporate acquisitions, real estate developments and projects and commercial facilities.
Diamond Conway provides innovative solutions to a wide spectrum of banking and finance transactions. We possess the expertise and resources to facilitate small to large scale transactions, whilst maintaining our commitment to providing personal service – as we have always done as a highly regarded and award winning boutique practise. We apply a holistic and pragmatic approach to banking and finance transactions. In doing so, our approach includes a focus on the effect of transactions on our clients’ commercial, tax, accounting and compliance positions.
In addition, the strong collaborations between other legal specialists within Diamond Conway ensure our Banking and Finance team is effectively complemented by our property, dispute resolution, recovery and insolvency groups.
Our Banking and Finance team provides an end-to-end service, which can be broadly categorised into services relating to:
- regulatory and compliance matters;
- transaction matters; and
- dispute resolution & enforcement.
Our Banking and Finance team provides a multifaceted service offering in relation to Australian banking and financial regulation and compliance – including in relation to:
- Australian credit licensing, and generally matters arising from consumer credit;
- Australian financial services licensing – including registered and unregistered managed investment schemes, and pool and contributory mortgage funds;
- banking regulation, including in relation to supervision under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Banking Association,
as well as a multitude of matters arising from relevant legislative measures, which include corporations law, superannuation regulations and electronic conveyancing regulations.
With an ever changing and involving regulatory framework, Diamond Conway continues to honour its commitment to providing up to date and current advice, ensuring our clients’ are adequately meeting their various obligations.
- standard mortgage documentation, including loan agreements, mortgages and variations;
- deeds of guarantee and indemnity;
- personal property security agreements;
- deeds of priority;
- old system title securities;
- standard certifications to clients and legal signoffs;
- special loan and mortgage conditions to reflect specific issues;
- deeds of set-off;
- deeds of cross collateralisation;
- syndicated loan documentation;
- deeds of subordination;
- construction and development loans;
- tripartite and tie-in-deeds; and
- various ancillary security documents, such was drawdown and utilisation directions, advice declaration and waivers, certificates and declarations, warranties, undertakings, verification of identity certificates.
At Diamond Conway, we strongly believe that the most important step in any transaction is identifying the issues. Not just the key issues, but all relevant issues.
Our Banking and Finance team is no different. Our primary mandate from a transactional perspective is to identify, manage and mitigate pockets of legal risk. Every transaction is different, and brings with it different set of legal risks. Our Banking and Finance team is highly experienced and adept at identifying the legal risks inherent with financing transactions – and importantly, addressing those risks.
In undertaking our legal due diligence, we direct our enquiries to all relevant matters.
Our Banking and Finance team regularly acts in relation to a wider variety of financing transaction and arrangements, some of which include:
- asset finance;
- commercial lending;
- corporate lending;
- funds management;
- loan syndicates;
- managed investments;
- project finance;
- regulated consumer lending;
- leveraged superannuation transactions;
- secured work in capital;
- securitisation; and
- structured finance.
In such matters, we are typically engaged to assist our clients in all aspect of a transaction, from its genesis (for example, negotiating a term sheet) to the settlement of the matter, as well as all necessary post-settlement requirements – such reporting to our client and document retention and management.
In doing so, our lawyers and staff pride themselves on being accessible, approachable and friendly to both staff and clients and their customers’ representatives as well as having the necessary experience and knowledge to provide the correct advice and guidance.
Our clients choose Diamond Conway, and continue to choose Diamond Conway, because:
- we are easy to work with;
- we listen to our clients;
- we understand their business and its needs;
- we strive to maximise efficiencies; and
- we deliver value for money results.
Our approach to legal services has been designed to optimise efficiency and cost effectiveness.
At Diamond Conway, we understand that disputes will often arise, and our function as legal practitioners is to assist in the resolution of disputes, as justly, quickly, and cost effectively as possible.
The banking and financial sectors are of course not immune to disputes.
As part of our end-to-end service offering, our Banking and Finance team assists our clients in resolving any disputes that may arise with any third parties.
Our approach to all disputes is, to first and foremost, attempt to resolve the dispute without the need to litigate the dispute – for example, mediation or negotiating forbearance arrangements. However, not all disputes can be effective and efficiently resolved, and in those circumstances, our banking, finance, and property dispute resolution specialists have a wealth of experience and consistently secure favourable judicial decisions for our clients.
Having assist a number of clients navigate uncertain economic times, such the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and the challenges and disputes that may arise from those times, our Banking and Finance team is also highly experienced in personal and corporate insolvency matters. Our Banking and Finance team regularly advises and acts in relation to bankrupt estates, distressed debt and assets, restructuring and the appointment of insolvency practitioners, such as receivers and managers.
Some of the disputes that our Banking and Finance team regularly assist our clients with include:
- loan facility defaults;
- the enforcement of securities – including obtaining possession of and selling secured assets;
- consumer credit complaints made with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority;
- claims in relation to unconscionability and/or unfair contract terms under the ASIC Act or the Australian Consumer Law;
- disputes between two or more lenders – for example, priority or marshalling disputes.
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