Stephen K. Sawyier's
practice focuses on the organization of, and transactional work for, a variety
of bank-sponsored commercial paper conduits (fully and partially enhanced,
linked, and de-linked from sponsoring bank country risk, supported by various
types of credit and liquidity structures, including liquidity and credit
facilities, cash collateral, and swaps). Mr. Sawyier's work also includes
restructuring aspects of conduits' operations, including adding a Yen commercial
paper tranche for a U.S. conduit and obtaining "post review" rating agency
status. One of Mr. Sawyier's important clients in this area is The Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd.
The transactions on which Mr.
Sawyier has represented conduits include the following: secured and unsecured
loans; trade receivables; healthcare receivables; credit card receivables;
off-balance sheet leases, including those with sovereign obligors, with respect
to various assets, including buildings and other real property (both new
construction under FAS 97-10 and existing), aircraft, railroad rolling stock and
locomotives, semi-submersible drilling rigs, printing presses, shipping
containers, and automobiles, among others; CLOs (both entirely synthetic and
partially synthetic); equipment lease receivables; equipment warehousing
facilities; aircraft lease receivables; automobile lease receivables; and
automobile loan receivables. These have included both U.S. dollar and non- U.S.
dollar assets, as well as U.S. and non- U.S. sited sellers, obligors, and
servicers. Some of the assets have had the benefit of insurance, including both
financial guaranty and credit insurance.