Practices

Greg B. Cioffi is the head of Seward & Kissel’s Asset Securitization and CLO Practice Group, as well as the head of our Distressed Debt and Secondary Market Trading Group. Greg has practiced at the firm since 1986, and has been a partner since 1995.

Mr. Cioffi has extensive experience with a broad range of market value, cash flow, synthetic and hybrid synthetic securitization transactions. He is also recognized as one of the leading practitioners in structuring and documenting CLOs, CDOs, CFOs and telecom receivable securitizations.

In addition to Mr. Cioffi’s experience with structuring and documenting securitization facilities involving consumer loans, equipment finance, motion picture and television broadcast rights receivables, leveraged loans, trade receivables, credit card receivables, marketplace lending, supply chain finance, residential and commercial mortgage loans, automobile lease and installment sale contract receivables, shipping vessels and drydock receivables, he also has a great deal of experience securitizing less traditional asset classes, including mutual fund distribution fees, life insurance receivables, lottery receivables and other esoteric asset classes.

Mr. Cioffi also has extensive experience structuring and documenting SIVs, cash flow, market value, synthetic and hybrid synthetic CDOs and multi-seller commercial paper conduit facilities. Mr. Cioffi regularly represents a full range of clients in international and domestic workouts and restructurings involving a broad array of asset-based financings.

A significant portion of Mr. Cioffi’s practice also involves representing agents, lenders and borrowers in syndicated secured and unsecured term loan and revolving credit facilities, mezzanine loan facilities, CLO warehouse facilities and mortgage warehouse facilities.

Mr. Cioffi has been actively involved in the development of numerous innovative transactions, including the first leveraged loan backed SIV, the first issuance of rated notes backed by mutual fund distribution fees, the first commercial paper note funded facility to retire auction rate preferred shares (ARPS) and to purchase variable rate term preferred shares (VRTPS), the first rated risk retention financing facility for CLO transactions, the first master CLO warehouse facility and the first repo transaction to finance risk retention for CMBS transactions.

Mr. Cioffi is one of the leading practitioners in the distressed debt area and has assisted numerous clients in establishing and implementing policies and procedures for the purchase and sale of various types of bank debt, and assisting such clients in understanding the documentation utilized in the secondary market trading of distressed debt.

Mr. Cioffi has authored numerous articles on a variety of legal topics, including “Adapting CLO Documentation in the Midst of COVID-19”, Asset Securitization Report, July 27, 2020, “A New Way to Refinance CLO Securities”, Asset Securitization Report, January 10, 2018; “The New Way CLO Managers are Financing Skin in the Game”, Asset Securitization Report, January 11, 2016; “Collateralized Loan Obligations”, The Hedge Fund Law Report, June 2013; “Subscription (Capital Call) Loan Facilities: The Devil is in the Details”, The Deal, February, 2012, and “A Primer on Subscription (Capital Call) Loan Facilities”, The Journal of Structured Finance, Summer 2012; “CLOs – Lessons Learned”, Asset Securitization Report, July 2011; “The CLO Deep Discount Dilemma”, Asset Securitization Report, May 25, 2009; “When In Doubt, ‘Vertical Slice’ It?”, Asset Securitization Report, December 15, 2008; “When Should a Loan Trade as ‘Distressed?’”, The Distressed Debt Report, July 22, 2008; “Assessing CDO Event of Default Risk”, The Deal, February 4, 2008; “Double Dipping Issues Relating to CLO and CDO Management Fees”, January 2008; and “Structured Investment Vehicles: Structures and New Developments”, Euromoney, 2007. Mr. Cioffi is also a regular speaker at various conferences on numerous topics including asset securitization, CLOs, telecom receivables, SIVs distressed debt and restructurings.

Mr. Cioffi is a member of the American Bar Association, The Loan Syndication and Trading Association, The Loan Market Association and the LSTA CLO Committee.

Publications