Banking and Finance

BLP

BLP remains a market leader, employing the full bench strength of offices in San José, Las Catalinas, Marina Los Sueños and Marina Flamingo, in addition to branches across Latin America and Europe, advising multinational and national commercial banks, investment banks, private equity sponsors and international funding organisations involved in high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. The firm’s comprehensive service extends to the securing and servicing of loans, credit restructuring, bankruptcy, regulatory compliance and complex litigation. The team is led by Vivian Liberman, an expert in capital markets, and Andrés López, who specialises in fintech and blockchain matters. Other key figures include Julio Castellanos, who, along with Pablo Umaña, brings extensive experience to the financing of major energy and infrastructure projects; Luis Hernández, who specialises in finance for real estate developments; senior counsel Rodrigo Cubero, who draws on his experience as the former president of the Central Bank of Costa Rica and his nearly 13 years at the International Monetary Fund; director Ariel Leiva; and associate Luis Herrera.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Deep knowledge of the practice area.'
‘Andrés López has a great capacity for global analysis of situations.’
‘BLP's banking and finance practice is exceptional. For our company and many of our level that we work with, which are top in the country, there is no doubt that BLP has the best experts in banking and finance. They have an extremely robust team with partners and lawyers focused on different areas that allow them to cover all 360 degrees of their clients' needs.'
‘Vivian Liberman is an exceptional attorney and team leader. They also have Rodrigo Cubero, who is a benchmark in the Costa Rican financial market. Andrés López is also a very good lawyer. Julio Castellanos is excellent in financing, and Luis Hernandez in commercial banking.'
'BLP combines the ability to identify potential risks in business with the commercial knowledge to be able to have conversations about how to do business, and not just focus on presenting all possible risks without providing solutions as is the case with many other lawyers in Costa Rica.'
'They stand out for their commercial sense, availability at all times, deep knowledge of the market and ability to present creative and innovative solutions. All of this is reflected in the leadership of Vivian Liberman, who is by far our most trusted attorney. Vivian demonstrates to us every day her enormous ability to support us with all the legal issues of our company.'

Key clients

Santander US Capital Markets
J.P. Morgan Securities
BofA Securities
IDB Invest
Waldorf Astoria
Evertec
Twin Brook Capital Partners
DEG
Unicomer
BNP Paribas
Intesa Sanpaolo, New York Branch
JPMorgan Chase Bank
Mizuho Bank
MUFG Bank
Société Générale
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
The Bank of Nova Scotia
HSBC

Work highlights

Played a crucial role as local counsel for Santander US Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities, serving as the initial purchasers and joint administrators, on the Republic of Costa Rica's issuance of $1.5bn aggregate principal amount of 6.550% bonds due in 2034.
Advised Evertec on the refinancing of its existing credit facilities, with the new facilities encompassing an expanded $200m revolving credit facility and a $415m term loan, both maturing on December 1, 2027.
Advised on a $350m loan transaction granted to Grupo Unicomer by a pool of syndicated banks.