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Simmons & Simmons has announced the recruitment of a capital markets team to its Paris office.

September 5, 2003 - The team is led by partner Arnauld Achard. The eight member team previously worked at Clifford Chance Paris where Arnauld was co-head of capital markets in Paris.

Arnauld Achard is a French qualified avocat with eleven years of experience in financial markets law. Arnauld practices primarily in the areas of derivatives (including credit and equity derivatives), capital markets, funds and regulatory work with a particular focus on structured transactions.

The team is particularly strengthened by the presence of two English senior counsel, (Michael McNicholas and Natalie Boyd) who are specialists in synthetic securitisations and CDOs. The team also comprises one French lawyer (Katia Merlini) and four other legal staff.

Jacques de Taisne, Paris managing partner, said:

"The recruitment of a team of eight people is a significant coup for Simmons & Simmons and is testimony to the firm's strength in the field of capital markets. Our international capital markets practice is one of the market leaders in structured securities notably through our offices in Paris, London, Rotterdam, Frankfurt, Milan, Lisbon, Madrid, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Arnauld Achard and his team will play a vital role in further building this practice and we are delighted that they have joined Simmons & Simmons."

Financial markets partner Arnauld Achard said:

"Simmons & Simmons has an enviable reputation in capital markets and structured securities work and we are delighted to become part of a successful firm. This team will have a pan-European scope with a particular emphasis on the French & Benelux markets. Our aim is to combine the strengths of this team with Simmons & Simmons' expertise in financial markets to build one of the pre-eminent capital markets practices in Paris."

In the past year (September 2002 - August 2003), seven new partners have joined Simmons & Simmons. A further nine new partners were appointed internally with effect from 1 May 2003.

Simmons & Simmons appoints finance partner Ingrid Kalisch to Frankfurt office

2 October 2003 - Simmons & Simmons continues the development of its German practice with the recruitment of Ingrid Kalisch as finance partner in its Frankfurt office.

Ingrid is a broad-based finance lawyer with a strong backround in transactional banking, bank regulation and capital markets. She was previously a partner with Luther Menold in Frankfurt where she was Head of the Banking & Finance Group.

Ingrid has an established practice which comprises acquisition finance, project finance, syndicated loans, structured finance, asset-backed securities and bank regulation, as well as experience of IPOs and private equity transactions. Her finance clients include established German and international finance institutions.

Her practice and client base complements the existing finance group at Simmons & Simmons in Germany, which has an active practice, particularly in asset-backed securities, bank regulation and transactional banking.

Ingrid joins the firm with senior associate Sabine Bombe, who has a strong finance and equity capital markets background.

Ingrid Kalisch said:

"Simmons & Simmons has an excellent position and reputation for banking and capital markets work. We are very pleased to be joining the financial markets team, which enjoys client relationships with a wide range of the world's leading international financial institutions. The prospect of working in this team to grow the firm's financial markets business in Frankfurt is very exciting."

Jane Newman, managing partner of Simmons & Simmons Germany, said:

"Ingrid is a very impressive lawyer. We are delighted that she will be joining our team in Frankfurt. She brings not only excellent experience as a finance lawyer but also a proven track record and leadership skills of building a finance team. Her appointment is a further key step in the development of our business in Germany and the growth of our Frankfurt office."

Stephen Moller, financial markets partner, who leads the Frankfurt office, said:

"Ingrid's recruitment is a major step forward for our Frankfurt office. She is a senior partner with a very strong reputation in the local market. We are very pleased that Ingrid and Sabine will be joining us."

In the past year (Sept 2002-Sept 2003), nine new partners have joined Simmons & Simmons. A further nine new partners were appointed internally with effect from 1 May 2003.

Simmons & Simmons advises on the first rated securitisation in the Czech Republic

1 October 2003 - Simmons & Simmons has advised Home Credit Finance a.s. as originator in the first rated securitisation in the Czech Republic. The Simmons & Simmons team comprised lawyers in the firm's London and Rotterdam offices. This is the first time that Simmons & Simmons has acted for Home Credit Finance a.s., one of the largest consumer finance companies in the Czech Republic and a subsidiary of Ceská Pojišt'ovna.

The transaction involves a structure using multiple Dutch special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), which enabled Home Credit Finance to securitise its portfolio of credit card receivables. The multi-SPV structure also gives Home Credit Finance flexibility for future issuances out of the same structure.

The Simmons & Simmons team in London was led by financial markets partner Christopher Lewis, assisted by Steve Kim, Ron Akram and Andrew Bartlett. Financial markets partner Harm van Berkum led the team in Rotterdam, assisted by Wout van der Weg. Also in Rotterdam, partner Peter de Brock advised on Dutch tax matters and Marta Borrat i Frigola advised on data protection issues.

Christopher Lewis commented:

"We are pleased to have advised Home Credit Finance in this innovative and groundbreaking transaction. As the first securitisation in the Czech Republic, it represents the opening of an exciting new market which is poised for tremendous growth."

Harm van Berkum commented:

"This transaction demonstrates the superiority of the Dutch jurisdiction in pan-European securitisation transactions and we expect its use to continue, both in upcoming Central European transactions and world-wide."

Czech law firm Brzobohatý Brož & Honsa acted as Czech counsel to Home Credit Finance a.s.

Simmons & Simmons advises CSFB on innovative cash Collateralised Debt Obligation

Simmons & Simmons has advised Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) on the first managed cash Collateralised Debt Obligation (CDO) of single tranche CDOs where the reference entities or obligors underlying the single tranche CDOs can be hedged on an individual basis. The notional amount of the transaction, called Cheyne Correlation CDO 1, is US$300 million.

CSFB arranged the transaction and Cheyne Capital Management is the portfolio manager.

This is a dual 144A/Reg S placement where Simmons & Simmons advised CSFB on English and US legal aspects.

The Simmons & Simmons team advising on English legal aspects was led by capital markets partner David Roylance assisted by Michael Dodson, Natalie Boyd and Ron Akram. The team advising on US legal aspects was led by capital markets partner Christopher Lewis assisted by Charles Hawes and Steve Kim. In addition, partner Nick Cronkshaw assisted by Mark Sheiham advised on UK tax matters.

Capital markets partner David Roylance said:

"We are delighted to have advised CSFB on this transaction which combined both cash CDO and synthetic CDO technology to produce a first of its kind. We were also very pleased to have been able to demonstrate our combined English and US structured finance capability on this transaction."

A team of lawyers from Simmons & Simmons' Italian and London offices has advised Banca Intesa as joint arranger, together with UBS, of a multi-originator securitisation of trade receivables. The complex portfolio of receivables involves over 200 originators and derives from the supply of healthcare goods and services to local health authorities and public hospitals in the Region of Lazio ("Lazio"). The transaction is one of only a handful of successfully completed transactions involving healthcare receivables in Italy. Under the terms of the transaction, conducted under Italian securitisation law, Lazio assumed certain debts (to the suppliers) of health authorities and public hospitals within the region. It is the first time that such a large number of healthcare suppliers have pooled their Italian receivables in this way. Lazio will pay the special purpose vehicle, Atlantide Finance, in ten equal semi-annual payments. The notes have been listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, have a final maturity in June 2009 and have been rated A1/A+ by Moody's and Fitch. This is in line with the Region of Lazio's own credit rating. The Simmons & Simmons team in the Rome office was led by financial markets partner Filippo Pingue, assisted by Anastasio Passalacqua and Vinicio Trombetti. Michele Citarella a partner in the Milan office, led the Italian tax team advising on the transaction. Financial markets partners James Bresslaw and Charles Hawes advised on the English law aspects of the transaction. Banca Intesa is an established client of Simmons & Simmons, the firm having advised on a range of banking and capital markets transactions. Filippo Pingue said: "Once again it has been a pleasure to work with Banca Intesa on another successful securitisation. The transaction offered our team a number of interesting challenges that had not been confronted in the Italian market previously. Such innovative work is what Simmons & Simmons' professionals are particularly good at. Looking at the real potential for similar transactions in Italy, I am confident that our experience on the Atlantide deal provides us with a real competitive advantage." The Italian financial markets practice has grown significantly over the past year, particularly in the area of securitisation, due to several senior appointments.