In this episode of The Deal Makers podcast, Professor Dr. Chiara Zilioli, General Council at the European Central Bank (ECB), discusses with our ILF alumnus Papuna Papuashvili, who was a senior lawyer at the National Bank of Georgia, and is now a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs, the concept and legal framework surrounding the digital euro, a proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Europe. She outlines the shift towards digitalization in payment methods, leading to the exploration of the digital euro to ensure citizens have access to central bank money in a digital era. Zilioli identifies three primary objectives behind this initiative: supporting financial innovation, ensuring central bank money supply in a digital age, and enhancing Europe’s strategic autonomy in payment infrastructure. She explains the legal tender status of the digital euro and its implications, including its nature as a direct liability of the ECB and the distinction between central bank and commercial bank money. The discussion also touches on the limits on holdings and the lack of programmability in the digital euro, ensuring its fungibility as a form of currency.

In our latest episode of The Deal Makers Podcast, we delve into the ongoing battle against money laundering. Despite legislative strides to combat financial crimes, regulators face a significant hurdle: adapting to the ever-changing financial landscape, especially with the advancement of crypto-assets and DLT technologies. However, promising legislative initiatives such as MiCAR and regulations on information accompanying transfers signal proactive efforts to confront these challenges head-on. Join us as we explore these developments with our expert guests, Dr. Manuel Lorenz, LL.M., from Baker McKenzie, and Eirini Rafa, ILF Alumna. Tune in to stay informed about the latest anti-money laundering advancements.

In “Revving Up for the Road: The High-seed world of IPOs”, our 5th episode of the Deal Makers Podcast series, Dr. Sebastian Sieder, our student and Vienna based lawyer and Alexander Rang, Partner at Hengeler Mueller, focus on the how, what and why of an IPO, including a basic understanding of the process and important legal stipulations of a company going public. They touch upon the specific tasks, which are done by a Junior Associate, the so-called SPACs, direct listings and the EU Listing Act or the Zukunftsfinanzierungsgesetz in Germany. Please have a listen from the expert who advised IONOS, the first IPO in Germany for 2023, and his experiences with advising a company going public under multiple crises challenging market conditions.

On 20 April 2023, the European Parliament adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on Markets in Crypto-Assets (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation - MiCAR). This was the motivating factor for our student Nicolas Bonilla to meet up with Dr. Conrad Ruppel, partner at Ashurst in Frankfurt am Main and to discuss this new, harmonised regulatory framework for crypto-assets and related services. As an expert in financial markets supervisory law and litigation, Dr. Ruppel’s practice covers all areas of investment and financial markets law, including the regulation of new technologies and digital assets. Tune in and find out more about the behind the scenes practice of a team that advised Goldman Sachs on their use of a digital asset platform.

Dear Listeners, in our third episode of the Dealmakers ILF- Podcast Series Dr. Markus Burianski (Partner and Head of White & Case's German arbitration practice, as well as Lecturer at the Institute of Law and Finance) together with Ms. Buket Bayril discuss the topic on Third-Party Funding in Arbitration. With the support of Basavan Patil, they explore the motivations behind funders, their meticulous evaluation of potential cases, and the intriguing possibility of public offerings in third-party funding. If you are fascinated by the world of arbitration and want to learn more about the nuances of this dynamic practice, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in now for valuable insights!

We are back with Episode 2 of The Dealmakers ILF-Podcast Series with Dr. Christian Storck (Partner and German Head of Finance at Linklaters LLP), Mr. William Lam and Ms. Namrata Pandit where we take you through an interesting conversation on AT-1 bonds, their emergence, and how different they are from the traditional bonds. The conversation will also shed light on the recent events that saw a complete write-down of the AT-1 bonds at Credit Suisse. Do listen to this episode, and as always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome! Thank you for the overwhelming support towards the ILF Podcast, and we hope to bring more such conversations!  

Dr. Daniel Reichert-Facilides, Senior Counsel of Chatham Partners and Mr. Andreas Ruthemeyer, Counsel of Clifford Chance, will be discussing the impact of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors on project finance in this first episode of the ILF Podcast Series “The Deal Makers”. They will touch upon various facets of ESG, including taxonomy, regulations and greenwashing and also give their views on the importance of having an ESG agenda for the future.