About

Based in New York, the Natixis’ in-house legal team is a highly respected function within the organisation which has also received plaudits from outside observers. The overall team is led by managing director and general counsel Thomas Sharpe, while director and senior counsel Donal A. Luna is tasked with the specific oversight of Latin America, with other lawyers within the team covering specific product groups and business areas as and when they are needed. When discussing the most prominent deals and projects the team has been successful in over recent years, Luna listed off an extremely impressive record of achievement. Some of the most important include its roles as joint lead arranger, book runner and mandated lead arranger for a number of companies including Biosev, Cerro Diminador, Aurelian Ecuador and Suzano Papel e Celulose across the past two years. The latter of these involved a US$9.2bn dual-tranche syndicated loan which came in for particular praise; the deal was awarded 2019 Bonds & Loans Awards Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year.