Practice areas: Banking & Finance | Cross-Border Transactions | Corporate
Jurisdiction: Panama
Date: February 2025
Overview
LOVILL advised the regional group of entities of CrediQ, part of Grupo Q, in connection with a US$200 million syndicated credit facility arranged by Bladex and Banco Agrícola, acting as Administrative Agent and Joint Lead Arrangers.
The financing plays a strategic role in strengthening CrediQ’s capital structure, refinancing existing indebtedness, and supporting the expansion of its auto-loan portfolio across multiple Central American jurisdictions.
The challenge
The transaction involved a high level of legal and operational complexity, arising from its multijurisdictional nature and the need to coordinate local law compliance across several countries, while negotiating a New York law–governed credit agreement. Ensuring consistency between the financing documents, the cross-border collateral structure, and local regulatory requirements was critical to the successful closing of the transaction.
Our role
LOVILL led the Panamanian law aspects of the transaction and played a key role in the cross-border coordination of the deal. The firm’s work included:
- Advising on Panamanian law representations and warranties, covenants, and borrower obligations under the credit facility
- Structuring and overseeing the perfection of the collateral package for the Panamanian entities
- Advising on guarantees and security interests in a cross-border context
- Issuing and coordinating the Panamanian law legal opinion
- Working closely with international counsel to ensure alignment between the New York law credit agreement and local law requirements
Impact
- Successful closing of a US$200 million syndicated financing supporting regional growth
- Reinforced CrediQ’s capital structure and refinancing strategy
- Enabled the continued expansion of a leading auto-loan platform across Central America
- Demonstrated Lovill’s ability to manage complex, cross-border financing transactions involving multiple jurisdictions and legal systems
Team
Lead partners: Elizabeth Heurtematte, Alejandro Fung
Other team members: José De Gracia
