Norton Rose Fulbright advises banking consortium in connection with the establishment of the first STEP-labelled Commercial Paper Programme of a German Federal State

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a banking consortium consisting of AFS Interest B.V., Bank of America Europe DAC, Bayerische Landesbank, BRED Banque Populaire, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Arranger), Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, ING BANK N.V., Landesbank Baden-Württemberg und NatWest Markets N.V. in connection with the establishment of the Commercial Paper Programme (the "Programme") of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt. This is the first Commercial Paper Programme of a German Federal State that has received the label of the Short Term European Paper (STEP) Secretariat. Pursuant to the Programme, the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt may issue short-term zero coupon State Treasury Notes in a total amount of up to Euro 3 billion.

The STEP initiative promotes the development and integration of the European financial markets for short-term paper through the convergence of market standards and practices, aiming to enhance market depth and liquidity. The STEP initiative is jointly operated by the ACI Financial Markets Association and the European Money Markets Institute and is supported by the European Central Bank.

Christoph Enderstein, Head of Debt Capital Markets at Norton Rose Fulbright in Germany, comments: "We have advised in connection with several innovative debt capital markets transactions involving the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt in recent years and are delighted that we were now also involved in the establishment by the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt of the first STEP-labelled Commercial Paper Programme of a German Federal State."

The Norton Rose Fulbright team in Frankfurt was led by partner Christoph Enderstein (Debt Capital Markets) and senior associate Florian Fraunhofer (Debt Capital Markets). They were supported by counsel Dr Michael Born (Debt Capital Markets/Financial Services) and associate Miriam Dustmann (Debt Capital Markets).

The Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt was represented by the Ministry of Finance of the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt under the leadership of Markus Krause (Head of Treasury).

Norton Rose Fulbright’s Frankfurt debt capital markets team led by partner Christoph Enderstein advises both investment banks and issuers in connection with national and international capital market transactions in the areas of debt capital markets and structured finance, in particular on bonds, electronic securities, commercial paper, covered bonds, structured bonds, securitized derivatives, hybrid instruments, registered bonds, Schuldschein loans and debt issuance programmes, as well as related regulatory issues including sustainable finance matters.