Banking & Finance: Regulatory

Hengeler Mueller houses an outstanding banking and finance team with an excellent reputation for complex, high-value international transactions. Its lawyers routinely advise well-known German and international corporates and banks on acquisition finance, state-sponsored financing and syndicated corporate loans. The law firm is also recommended for refinancing, financial restructurings and ESG-related financings. Its clientele further enjoys an excellent regulatory offering, with the department assisting with cryptocurrency, payment system implementation and restructurings in the financial sector. Additionally, the firm convinces with its prowess in complex litigation and BaFin enforcement proceedings. Hengeler Mueller rounds off its excellence with its regulatory strength in bank M&A mandates.

"The Hengeler team is sophisticated and able to handle any complex and non-standard matters that come up."

"The team is always on time, even in cases of very tight deadlines."

"My experience with Hengeler Mueller has been exclusively positive. The team is very experienced, especially the partners. But also the lawyers at associate and counsel level are always very active and open and show a client-centred approach."

"What I really appreciate is that they have a very balanced approach when it comes to negotiations, including when they advise clients or counterparts."

"Hengeler is a top-tier firm. It also provides value for money, through senior-partner attention, which makes for quicker delivery of know-how with no necessity for corrections."

Hengeler Mueller advised METRO on a EUR1 billion ESG-linked syndicated revolving facility with increase and extension option.

As one of Germany's top banking and finance lawyers, Johannes Tieves is an excellent choice for borrowers and lenders seeking comprehensive advice. His practice covers assistance with complex refinancing mandates, including syndicated and bilateral credit and guarantee lines, as well as advice on financings of prominent public takeover deals. He is additionally versed in Schuldschein transactions. "Johannes Tieves has been a very good adviser over many years and provides very strong levels of client service, sophistication and commercial awareness." "He particularly stood out for his skilful handling of the negotiation process."

Dirk Bliesener is highly active on a wide array of regulatory issues, ranging from bank M&A transactions to complex reorganisations. He also offers prowess in shareholder control proceedings as well as in litigation concerning the Single Resolution Board before European courts. "We consider Dirk Bliesener of Hengeler Mueller the brightest, most outstanding bank M&A lawyer in Germany. His advice is reliable and can be trusted. He is our go-to for complicated issues in German and EU regulations." "Dirk Bliesener is a very experienced and executive lawyer who makes a very good impression also at board level; he is not just technically strong but also able to explain things well to a high-level audience."

Christian Schmies advises on a myriad of regulatory mandates, ranging from bank M&A transactions and licensing procedures to BaFin enforcement proceedings and fintech topics.

Nikolaus Vieten is sought after by prominent German and multinational companies for his expertise in high-value acquisition finance and refinancing mandates. He is also a visible player in leveraged finance transactions. "Nikolaus Vieten is a top LBO lawyer with very strong commercial awareness."

Daniela Böning rises in the rankings due to her continuing strength in complex mandates and excellent client feedback. She regularly assists with high-value acquisition finance and refinancing mandates and has experience in multi-tranche facilities, bridge financings and ESG-linked transactions. "Daniela Böning did a fantastic job: She was very client-centred and target-oriented, invariably well prepared for negotiations, and the documents she prepared were always extremely well drawn up. Through all of this she brought efficiency into the entire financing process." "Daniela Böning is great in negotiations: she is factually comprehensible, with very clear lines of argumentation, and doesn't beat around the bush but provides well-founded arguments. She is also target-oriented and inclusive in her communication with the counterparty." "She explains things in such a way that I as a non-lawyer can understand them."