Paul
Browne

Paul is a partner in the Structured Finance and Derivatives group, based in London. Paul has played, and continues to play, a leading role in the evolution of the structured products market since the early 1990s, both in the UK and Asia (where he was based from 2000 to 2014). Paul is (and has been for many years) ranked as a “Leading Partner” by Legal 500 for Derivatives and Structured Products, and he is part of the European team that won the “Best Law Firm” at the 2024 Structured Retail Products Europe Awards.

Paul’s principal focuses are:

• Advising major financial institutions (investment banks, asset managers and other financial services firms) globally on a wide variety of complex and innovative structured debt products, covering a wide range of asset classes (especially new and emerging asset classes such as carbon credits and crypto currencies)
• Advising asset managers on their exchange traded product platforms
• Advising lenders and borrowers on strategic equity trades, both in loan and derivative format
• Advising on the related regulatory landscape (such as AIFMD and the Prospectus Regulation)

Relevant experience includes advising:

• UBS as arranger in a first-of-a kind and ground-breaking carbon finance transaction, along with asset manager Carbonaires and carbon management specialist The Carbon Removers.
• DWS Investments UK Limited on the launch of their crypto-currency focused exchange traded products programme for professional and retail investors in Europe.
• International investment banks in connection with Islamic finance products such as murabaha, mudaraba, wakala and wa’ad.
• A large number of arrangers on their structured debt issuance platforms, covering a wide range of asset classes and structures, and issuances under those platforms.
• 21Shares AG in relation to the launch of its exchange-traded notes programme for Bitcoin and Ether-linked products on the new regulated market segment of the London Stock Exchange (achieving the listing on the opening day of the segment).
• An ETF provider on a bespoke FX hedging structure incorporated into their ETP platform.