Arnold & Porter Closes More Than US$50 Billion of Sovereign Finance Deals in 2024

Arnold & Porter advised Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Hungary, Panama, and Türkiye, among others, in notable sovereign finance deals in 2024, totaling more than US$53 billion.

Greg Harrington, head of the firm’s Sovereign Finance practice, said: “This volume of deals reflects the hard work of our dedicated team of sovereign finance lawyers in our New York, Washington, and London offices, working together with our clients’ own teams of professionals. The recognition of many of these transactions from market publications is also very gratifying.”

Sovereign Finance partner Whitney Debevoise added: “We were pleased to see sovereigns from four continents avail themselves of Arnold & Porter’s services across a range of innovative sovereign transactions in the global capital markets in 2024.”

Recognition

The team continues to advise on deals that garner widespread recognition.

• Brazil’s inaugural US$2 billion sustainable bond won both “Latin American ESG Deal of the Year“ at Global Capital’s 2024 Latin America Bond Awards and “Sustainability bond of the year – sovereign” at Environmental Finance’s 2024 Sustainable Debt Awards.
• Brazil’s US$4.5 billion bond offering in January 2024 was awarded “Bond Deal of the Year” at Global Banking & Markets: Latin America 2024.
• Colombia’s historic first issuance of social bonds in the international capital markets, totaling US$2.5 billion, won “Sovereign Sustainable Deal of the Year” at LatinFinance’s prestigious 2024 Deals of the Year awards ceremony in January 2025. 
• Panama won “Infrastructure Financing of the Year – Central America” at LatinFinance’s Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards in October 2024, in connection with the financing of the construction of the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal, a transaction on which Arnold & Porter advised Panama’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.   
• El Salvador’s first-of-its-kind offering of US$1 billion in aggregate principal amount of its 9.650% Notes due 2054 won Latin America Bond of the Year at the 2024 IFR Awards, which is taking place on March 17, 2025. 

Among other notable deals were Arnold & Porter’s representations of:

• Honduras, in connection with its offering of US$700 million of its 8.625% Notes due 2034;
• Hungary, in connection with its offering of US$2.5 billion of 5.500% Notes due 2036; 
• Panama, on three series of Global Bonds, totaling US$3.1 billion;
• Türkiye (Turkey) on SEC-registered offerings of Notes totaling over US$10 billion, as well as Hazine Müsteşarliği Varlik Kiralama Anonim Şirketi, in its issuance of US$2.5 billion lease certificates due April 2030; and
• USAID, in a sovereign loan guarantee supporting the U.S. government’s US$20 billion loan to the Government of Ukraine.

Arnold & Porter’s Sovereign Finance practice advises sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, and state-owned companies on their most challenging financial transactions, including sovereign bond issues, liability management transactions, derivative operations, and re-financings/restructurings. Our lawyers are thought leaders in sovereign finance, contributing to the development of aggregated collective action and equal ranking clauses, U.S. government-guaranteed issues, sukuk bonds, and diaspora bonds.