Bustamante Fabara

Senior Associate

Diego has a broad international perspective, forged in his academic training and extensive professional experience as a diplomat and lawyer. After obtaining his law degree an JD, he trained at the Diplomatic Academy and then pursued postgraduate studies in the United States. A member of the Foreign Service for almost 20 years, he served in the Embassies in Bogotá and Washington as well as in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Quito, and also held positions of trust in the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade, Competitiveness, Integration and Fisheries.  He was involved in the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and later for the Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America. In private practice he has advised international clients (from the United States, Europe, Latin America, China and Japan) as well as local companies, in countless commercial and financial transactions for a combined amount in excess of USD 20 billion (including the largest debt-for-nature swap to date, the first issue of a Sovereign Social Bond, and other complex financing structures, meriting international recognition by prestigious international rankings.  His practice extends to foreign investment, international arbitration, antitrust, banking & finance and telecommunications. Diego advised Credit Suisse on the structuring of the largest blue bond issue in history, in support of marine conservation and natural capital of the Galapagos Islands; the transaction also involves significant benefits in public debt reduction for the Republic of Ecuador.

With more than 20 years of professional experience locally and internationally, Jesús has unrivaled experience advising lenders and borrowers in various types of cross-border financing, such as syndicated and bilateral loans, club deals, project and acquisition financings. He also advises issuers and underwriters on bond and equity issues in capital markets, as well as on securitizations, structured financing, derivatives and repo transactions. Jesus has extensive experience in restructuring liabilities, and deep knowledge of insolvency and bankruptcy processes, as well as vast knowledge of the banking sector, particularly of the various laws in Latin America that impact the business of multi-jurisdictional institutional banking. In the Corporate area, he focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity investments and other strategic cross-border transactions. Prior to joining BF, he was a partner at a leading regional law firm, and prior to that he served as General Counsel for Latin America and the Caribbean, and as Senior Transaction Counsel for Corporate Banking and Investment Banking in Latin America at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (2010-2014). Prior to this role, he was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, working out of New York, United States, and out of Rome, Italy (2000-2010). Jesús is ranked as a Leading Lawyer in Banking and Finance by Legal 500, as Highly Regarding in Capital Markets, Debt and M&A by IFLR1000, in Band 2 in Banking and Finance by Chambers, and is recommended in Banking and Finance by Latin Lawyer.