In our first episode of 2024, Tom Speller, Managing Director and Head of European Funds at KBRA, takes some time out to speak with Zoë Hallam and Julia Keppe, co-heads of the Walkers' Channel Islands fund finance practice. His insights into the increased prevalence of ratings in both Europe and the US and across the full fund finance product spectrum as well as the key drivers behind this trend are worth a listen. 

In our latest episode, Group Partner Zoë Hallam & Senior Counsel Alex Wickens interview Shakeel Adli, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Zunikh, about his career in private practice and leaving the legal profession to start his new property development business which offers investment opportunities through its diverse and expanding property portfolio.

In this episode, we look at the client relationship from all sides in the context of a transaction, and we have some very special guests. Walkers' Banking & Finance group partner Julia Keppe and Cadwalader Finance associate Carla Pilcher talk to Julia Mandich, assistant general counsel at Barings, focusing on the priorities and pressures from their different perspectives. The trio discuss the dynamic between a client, instructing counsel and local counsel, and how all sides can better understand the motivating factors and build stronger relationships.

In this episode, group partner Zoë Hallam and senior associate Alice Wight from our Guernsey and Jersey Banking & Finance teams talk to Slade Spalding, the co-founder of alternative fund finance lender NLC. Slade talks about recent events in the fund finance market, looks ahead to developments over the coming months, and the challenges facing non-bank lenders in terms of capital restrictions. 

Our latest podcast is a must for anyone interested in digital assets and cryptocurrencies. In this episode, partner Sara Hall from our London office talks to the CEO & Founder of JITA Digital Jerome Rousselot about the state of stablecoins. Sara is one of a number of Walkers partners in London who have built a leading practice specialising in digital assets from a Cayman Islands, Bermuda and BVI law perspective. Sara advises on the regulation of digital asset businesses, token issuances, NFTs, AML/KYC, and financial services more broadly. She was speaking to Jerome as a bonus episode of Walkers' regular We Talk Banking & Finance podcast, which focuses on themes and trends in offshore finance. You can listen to the episode below.

Our latest podcast is a must for anyone interested in digital assets and the digital economy. In this episode, partner Sara Hall from our London office talks to Founding Partner of Collider Ventures Adam Benayoun about Web3 and its regulation.   Sara is one of a number of Walkers partners based in London who have built a leading practice specialising in digital assets from a Cayman Islands and BVI law perspective. Sara advises on the regulation of digital asset businesses, token issuances, NFTs, AML/KYC, and financial services more broadly. She was speaking to Adam as a bonus episode of Walkers' regular We Talk Banking & Finance podcast, which focuses on themes and trends in offshore finance.  You can listen to the episode below.

With the Global Fund Finance Symposium in Miami a week away, we talk to Fund Finance Association Chair Jeff Johnston about what to expect from the year's biggest event for the Fund Finance sector. Group Partner Julia Keppe and Senior Associate Alice Wight from Walkers' Banking & Finance team look ahead to the event – now in its 12th year - and run through the key issues and trends impacting investors, fund managers, bankers and lawyers in the sector.

ESG remains a hot topic in finance – for this episode we welcome back Bradley Davidson, ESG Lead at RBS International, to explore the factors influencing sustainable financing, including regulation, reporting and investor behaviour. Bradley joined us in our first season for a similar discussion – in this episode, Group Partner Julia Keppe and Associate Alice Wight discuss how things have moved on in the last 12 months, and how the direction of travel has changed.

In our second episode of season two, Group Partner Julia Keppe and Senior Associate Alice Wight interview Luxembourg-based Legal Director Michael Mbayi who was recently recognised as one of most influential fund finance experts of 2022. In the episode Michael discusses the fund finance and capital market work he is involved in and the convergence he sees between the two practices.

In our first episode of season two, Group Partners Zoë Hallam and Julia Keppe interview Director Matthew Wright about the looming economic downturn.

After a break of three years, the European Fund Finance symposium returned last month – in this special episode recorded just after the event, Group Partner Julia Keppe and Senior Associate Alice Wight talk about the key topics – the growth of non-bank lenders, risk pinch points and the emergence of innovative new structures.

Partner Sara Hall in Walkers' London office has built a leading regulatory practice focused on digital asset/fintech matters from an offshore perspective – in this episode she speaks with Maxime de Guillebon, Chief Executive Officer at Zodia Custody Limited, on themes in the market place, regulatory movement, and innovation in the realm of fintech.

In the run-up to the Global Fund Finance Symposium in Miami, we are delighted to be joined for this We Talk Banking & Finance episode by Mike Mascia, the head of Cadwalader's Fund Finance practice. Mike is co-founder of the Funds Finance Association, founder of Fund Finance Friday and a regular Contributing Editor of the Pink Book – in this episode he looks ahead to Miami and talks about themes and trends in the market with Senior Counsel Julia Keppe and Associate Alice Wight from Walkers' Global Fund Finance Practice Group.

For the first episode of 2022, Group Partners Zoë Hallam and Tristan Maultby speak to Senior Counsel Catherine Overton about the key trends in Banking & Finance across our jurisdictions for 2022. 

For the final episode of 2021, Senior Counsel Julia Keppe and Associate Alice Wight interview Group Partner Jon Le Rossignol about trends in market behaviour, conversations and instructions that across different aspects of Banking and Finance work, and looking ahead to 2022.

Group Partner Jon Le Rossignol and Associate Alice Wight interview Andrea Harris, Director of Recovery & Reorganisation at Grant Thornton Limited, about the latest trends and themes in restructuring.

Group Partner Zoe Hallam & Senior Counsel Julia Keppe talk about diversity and innovation in financial services with Dee Dee Sklar – a hugely well-known name in fund finance, who is a former Vice Chair Subscription Finance at Wells Fargo, and a founder and Global Co-Chair of Women in Fund Finance.

Group Partner Zoë Hallam and Senior Counsel Alex Wickens interview Group Partner Tristan Maultby about trends in real estate finance, and the rise, fall, and rise of the Jersey Property Unit Trust.

Senior Counsel Julia Keppe and Associate Alice Wight interview Bradley Davidson, ESG Lead at RBS International, about trends and themes in ESG.

Group Partner Zoe Hallam & Senior Counsel Julia Keppe interview Mohith Sondhi, Senior Director - Debt Finance, at OakNorth Bank.