About

The Latin American in-house legal team at Citigroup is led by the highly experienced Mariel Creo who serves as managing director for investment banking and capital markets origination legal and is supported by four astute legal counsel: Andrew Terjesen, Kevin Smith, Tom Canny and Brittni Roberts. Explaining some of the most significant transactions her team has recently worked on in Latin America, Creo has the following to say: ‘Citigroup acted as joint dealer manager and solicitation agent in the new tender offer and consent solicitation for the Mexico City Airport after the announcement by the newly elected Mexican government of its cancellation of the airport. This is one of the most important transactions of 2018’. Terjesen was directly involved in the Mexico City Airport liability management transaction and helps support capital markets in Latin America. The rest of the team are also commended for the roles they fulfil within the department: Smith is involved in all loans pertaining to Latin America, Canny is involved in M&As in the region and Roberts supports different documentation relating to all transactions in Latin America. Creo identifies that some of the most important challenges for the team are corruption and money laundering issues as well as the lack of rule of law in certain jurisdictions and the uncertainty that generates in transactions as well as the ways in which they can mitigate risk. ‘Economic factors such as currency devaluation, changes in law and accounting matters and of course elections and other political uncertainties create challenges for our clients and our transactions’, she says. Creo further explains the team’s approach in light of these challenges: ‘Latin America requires a very specific set of skills and understanding of the region to be able to navigate the challenges and uncertainties that the region faces on a daily basis. You must always be aware of any issues and informed about the circumstances in a particular country to successfully execute the transactions. I believe we have a very skilled team that is very sensitive to these matters and that can successfully execute these transactions while protecting our franchise’.