banking, finance
& stock market

Banking, Financial Services and Securities Advice

The firm’s Banking, Financial Services and Securities Department has had much success providing high quality legal advice to both lenders and creditors in a wide-variety of transactional and ongoing business matters.

PAZ HOROWITZ has counseled foreign companies domiciled in Ecuador regarding the financing structures with their foreign headquarters and local suppliers to ensure compliance with Ecuadorian law.

We have advised many clients on major building projects in Ecuador. Our experience in this area includes obtaining credit ratings from Ecuadorian financial institutions, and the structuring of mortgage agreements used by builders and buyers to obtain financing and provide collateral for their loans.

Our firm has represented both foreign and local companies before Ecuadorian banks and trust fund administrators to structure credits and to implement business trust, novation and loan settlement agreements.

As commercial law specialists, we have advised clients in numerous transactions involving negotiations with local and international banks in real estate, securities, trademark and franchising matters, including the negotiation and drafting of credit and collateral instruments (mortgages and pledges).

Representative matters

Paz Horowitz counseled an international lending agency and coordinated the signing of legally executable credit documents in Ecuador. For this transaction, we also drafted and organized the signing of the mortgage agreement that the creditor and its related companies granted in real property, as well as advised the client regarding the winding-up and settlement of this loan and mortgage on the property, which our attorneys physically inspected in order to verify surface area, liens, encumbrances and tenancy.
The firm advised an international bank in a difficult collection matter of a loan granted by an international company whose mortgage guarantee was located in Ecuador. We helped the client avoid a difficult judicial process to execute the guarantee by effectively negotiating with the Ecuadorian public institution that had acquired the mortgaged property and using expropriation proceedings. Through this process we were able to obtain repayment of a debt of approximately $3 million.
We represented a Colombian bank in the establishment and implementation of credit instruments to support a US$3,000,000 credit to an Ecuadorian university for the purchase of their new campus. We prepared the ownership transfer instruments and oversaw the execution of the corresponding mortgage and pledge agreements.
We advised an international agrochemical company concerning its US$8,000,000 financial structuring for the purchase of shares of a local company. We also counseled and arranged the issuance of letters of credit and implemented guarantees and collateral to ensure the payment of contingent liabilities for this transaction.
We represented and counseled the main contractor for the construction of Quito’s new airport, ensuring documentary and regulatory compliance with the lender’s disbursement requirements for various credit transactions.
We represented the clients of an international law firm for the purchase, construction and financing of a gas power plant in Ecuador. We conducted the due diligence review and assisted in the drafting of transactional documents and the securitization.
We assisted a foreign energy company in its bid to finance and build a hydroelectric power plant in Ecuador.
We have drafted legal opinions for a worldwide securities firm concerning local representation contracts, bank representations, trusts and investments.
We conducted a due diligence review for a major American bank in relation to several loan agreements.
Our firm drafted legal opinions for a Canadian bank regarding a variety of banking products and services.