Loan market and developments Please provide a brief overview of the current state of the loan markets in your jurisdiction and any significant recent market developments According to statistical data which the Swiss National Bank published for September 2024, banks licensed in Switzerland provided credit facilities amounting to some CHF1.384m (amounts utilised) and CHF1.752m (amounts committed), respectively, to borrowers incorporated or resident in Switzerland. Some CHF1.196m were utilised mortgage loans. Commercial loan amounts have increased slowly but constantly over the last few years. This trend is likely to continue, in particular, for loans granted to individuals and small and mid-cap corporate borrowers. In particular, the Swiss market for syndicated lending transactions significantly increased during the last 20 years. Commitment amounts in the high three-digit millions were not uncommon during the peak years before 2008. The financial crisis, the strict capital base requirements of Basel III and the strong Swiss Franc somewhat slowed down the appetite of Swiss banks for granting large loans. Recently, in particular, Swiss-based syndicates are facing increasing competition from foreign arrangers of syndicated

Arbitration analysis: The decision concerned an application to set aside an arbitral award rendered in Switzerland on the basis that a newly constituted arbitral tribunal refused to repeat certain procedural acts after one of the arbitrators resigned. The Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) held that the arbitral tribunal has wide discretion to decide whether parts of the arbitral proceeding had to be repeated. According to the SFT, the newly appointed arbitrator could form an independent and objective view on the merits of the dispute based on the available records. The SFT decided that the arbitral tribunal was not improperly constituted and that the arbitral tribunal did not violate the parties’ right to be heard or formal public policy, and it dismissed the application to set aside the award. Written by Dr Florian Mohs, partner, Lukas Rusch, partner, and Irene Röthlisberger, associate, at Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law Ltd in Zurich and Geneva.

Arbitration analysis: In a landmark decision issued on 22 September 2021 and published on 5 October 2021, the Swiss Federal Tribunal (the Swiss Supreme Court) rejected an application requesting the setting aside of a Court Arbitration for Sport (CAS) award. The decision dealt with the crucial issue of legal aid in international arbitration proceedings. In its analysis, the court examined whether the legal aid system offered by the CAS was sufficient to preserve the applicant's fundamental procedural rights. It found that the applicant's rights to access justice and to equal treatment were not infringed. Written by Pierre Ducret, partner at CMS von Erlach Partners Ltd (Geneva).

Symmetric encryption involves the parties to a document agreeing on and sharing a private key. The key used to decrypt the data is the same as the key used to encrypt it. Without taking further steps, this method does not enable a person to validate the authenticity of a message and is also of limited use in most commercial scenarios except for one-off and/or high value transactions. Using it for regular or bulk transactions is unlikely to be appropriate as the key must be distributed to several parties, increasing the risk of loss or unauthorised use.

1. The group of lenders participating in a syndicated loan facility. 2. A collection of investors pooling resources to conduct business.

This Assignment is made on [insert day and month] 20[insert year] Parties 1 [Insert name of Assignor], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Assignor); and 2 [insert name of Security Agent] of [insert address] as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties on the terms and conditions set out in the [[Facilities Agreement] OR [Intercreditor Agreement] OR [Security Trust Deed]] (the Security Agent). Background (A) The Finance Parties have agreed to make available the loan facilities on the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (as defined below). (B) It is a condition precedent to the availability of the loan facilities that the Assignor enters into this Assignment for the purpose of providing security in favour of the Security Agent in respect of the Secured Obligations (as defined below). IT IS AGREED as follows: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 Definitions In this Assignment, unless otherwise provided: [Additional Assignor • means a member of the Group who becomes an Assignor in accordance with Clause 24 (Accession of an Additional Assignor); ] Assigned Rights

This Deed is made on [insert day and month] 20 [insert year] Parties 1 [insert name of Assignor], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Assignor); and 2 [insert name of SECURITY AGENT] as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties on the terms and conditions set out in the [[Facilities Agreement] OR [Intercreditor Agreement] OR [Security Trust Deed]] (the Security Agent). Recitals: (A) The Finance Parties have agreed to make available the loan facilities on the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (defined below). (B) It is a condition precedent to the availability of the loan facilities that the Assignor enters into this Deed for the purpose of providing security in favour of the Security Agent in respect of the Secured Obligations (as defined below). IT IS AGREED as follows: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 Definitions In this Deed, unless otherwise provided: Additional Assignor • means a member of the Group who becomes an Assignor in accordance with clause 24 (Accession of an Additional Assignor); Assigned

This Deed is made on [insert day and month] 20[insert year] Parties 1 [insert name of Assignor], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Assignor); and 2 [insert name of Security Agent] as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties on the terms and conditions set out in the [[Facilities Agreement] OR [Intercreditor Agreement] OR [Security Trust Deed]] (the Security Agent). Recitals: (A) The Finance Parties have agreed to make available the loan facilities on the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (as defined below). (B) It is a condition precedent to the availability of the loan facilities that the Assignor enters into this Deed for the purpose of providing security in favour of the Security Agent in respect of the Secured Obligations (as defined below). It is agreed as follows: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 Definitions In this Deed, unless otherwise provided: Additional Assignor • means a member of the Group who becomes an Assignor in accordance with Clause 24 (Accession of an Additional

This Deed is made on [insert day and month] 20[insert year] Parties [Insert name of Chargor], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the “Chargor”); and 1 [Insert name of Security Agent] as security agent and trustee for the Finance Parties on the terms and conditions set out in the [Facilities Agreement OR Intercreditor Agreement OR Security Trust Deed] (the “Security Agent”). Recitals: (A) The Finance Parties have agreed to make available loan facilities on the terms and conditions set out in the Facilities Agreement (as defined below). (B) It is a condition precedent to the availability of the loan facilities that the Chargor enters into this Deed for the purpose of providing security in favour of the Security Agent in respect of the Secured Obligations (as defined below). It is Agreed as follows: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 Definitions In this Deed, unless otherwise provided: [Account Bank • means

A facility under which lenders participate severally ie without liability should another lender fail to honour its obligations. The facility may start out as a bilateral loan but contain provisions enabling the original lender to transfer elements of the loan made to other participants. The facility is usually administered by the agent.

Banking & Finance analysis: What should lenders and their advisors take from the recent decision of the Hong Kong Court of First Instance in Charmway Hong Kong Investment v Fortunesea?

The sharing of deals between two or more investors, normally with one firm serving as the lead investor. Investing together allows venture capitalists to pool resources and share the risk of an investment.