Banking & Finance - Finland
What the team is known for
Castrén & Snellman is a banking and finance powerhouse that oversees a wide range of high-value and cross-border loan agreements, including syndicated arrangements. The team is particularly prominent in acquisition, real estate and ship finance mandates. The lawyers have considerable experience handling sustainability-linked financing and frequently assist with green bonds.
Strengths
"The team is able to deal with complex transactions in a structured way. It provides sufficient senior attention and quick turnaround. The lawyers have a good grasp of precedents and understanding of commercial points."
"The department possesses a very high level of knowledge in commercial terms and practical application of complex issues in contracts. Its response times and problem-solving attitude are second to none in the Finnish market."
"The lawyers are good at finding ways to proceed in situations where it seems that no way out will be found. They always have time to discuss and give guidance on matters."
"The team is responsive and accurate."
"Castrén & Snellman has a good team of senior associates."
Work highlights
Castrén & Snellman advised Neste on entering a EUR500 million green financing arrangement, with Danske Bank and OP Corporate Bank acting as lead arrangers and bookrunners of the loan.
Notable practitioners
Managing partner Sakari Lukinmaa frequently acts for banking consortiums and syndicates on acquisition and real estate finance mandates. "Sakari Lukinmaa is able to deliver on complex transactions." "He is a managing partner that the law firm can be proud of. He is efficient, always provides high-quality service and is commercially exceptional in terms of finding solutions from a business perspective while helping with the legal aspects." "Sakari is good at speaking in layman's terms." "He has been around for decades and is one of the strongest in the market."
Tero Tuomisto assists a range of clients with various loan agreements, including syndicated mandates, as well as capital markets deals such as bond issuances. He is particularly well versed in ship finance and sustainability-linked financing. "He is a very experienced, versatile and service-minded banking lawyer who really dedicates himself to the matter he is working on." "He has a diverse capacity in different legal areas. He also has a very commercial approach and he is a very good negotiator."