AFB Seminar: Negotiating High Value Letters of Credit – A Case Study

Insurers’ capital structures and the role of ancillary own funds, such as letters of credit (LOCs), are under increasing regulatory scrutiny. While these instruments can deliver meaningful value to insurers and their banks, they sit within a framework of detailed and stringent PRA requirements that can complicate both expectations and negotiations.

This seminar will examine the involvement of a non-UK headquartered bank in negotiations for a high-value instrument with a sophisticated borrower.

What are the lessons for banks in their conduct of lending negotiations and for their understanding of the technical attributes of the relevant instruments?

In 2025, Emma Hinton and Jeremy Irving, partners at law firm Browne Jacobson LLP, represented a UK insurer in the negotiation of the terms of a £20m letter of credit (LOC) with the UK branch of a non-UK headquartered bank.  Emma and Jeremy will present a case study on the key issues from the borrower’s perspective, to help members assess the risks and opportunities in relation to LOC negotiation processes in general, and in relation to the market in insurer-lending in particular.

Why attend?

Member bank representatives will gain a valuable opportunity to deepen their understanding of the use of LOCs—revisiting their purpose, functionality and essential components, and exploring how best to approach negotiations.

The session will place these discussions within the wider framework of capital negotiations between regulated entities, offering insight into the PRA’s permission process for ancillary own funds and highlighting practical ways in which banks can support insurers throughout that journey.

Who should attend?

Legal, risk (especially credit risk), business, and underwriting and client management/ relationship functions.

Speakers

Jeremy Irving, Partner

Jeremy is Browne Jacobson’s Head of Financial Services Regulation.  His advice to banking clients has covered numerous compliance, legal and insurance risk management projects, in particular in relation to the negotiation of bespoke trade credit, political risk and other insurance and derivative contracts, and advising on disputes and regulatory challenges over the formation and effectiveness of banks’ insurance programmes, including a major international arbitration relating to a trade credit programme.

Emma Hinton, Partner

Emma is joint head of Browne Jacobson’s national Banking and Finance team and brings her almost 20 years’ transaction customer facing banking experience to all her transactions.  She is known for delivering an excellent, efficient, pragmatic and straight-talking service to her clients – and as a result, she has a loyal following.  The Banking and Finance team at Browne Jacobson are very well-panelled with the main clearing banks, but Emma has worked hard to use her networks and style of delivery to expand the team’s national client base to include funders such as ThinCats, Growth Lending, FDC, Emirates NBD, OakNorth and Beechbrook.

Please note you will receive confirmation of your booking via email within 24 hours. Should you not receive confirmation, please contact AFB to double-check if your booking was successful.

Logistics

Fee: Included in AFB membership

Location: Browne Jacobson, 6 Bevis Marks, London, EC3A 7BA

Date: Thursday 19 March 2026

Time: 09:30 – 11:00 (Registration, networking and refreshments 09:00 – 09:30)

There will be ample opportunity for questions throughout the session; however, if you would like to submit a question before or have any areas that you would like the session to address, please send them to the AFB at secretariat@foreignbanks.org.uk.

You will receive final event details a week before the event.

Please note that you will only be deemed to have attended (for CPD points) if you have made yourself known at registration and attend 50% or more of the session.