Chapter 11: not the end of the story

With several major derivatives counterparties in or facing Chapter 11, an understanding of the legal ramifications of doing business with them is essential, say Mark Speiser and Sherri Venokur

It’s Friday afternoon when a salesperson for ‘Dealcom’, a commodities dealer, receives a call from ‘InSolvent’, a chemical manufacturer and long-time client. InSolvent wants to enter into a series of plain vanilla hedging trades and to execute that day. The business would be very profitable for Dealcom, and there’s even an International Swaps and Derivatives Association Master Agreement and credit support annexe in place between the parties. The salesperson tells InSolvent that, subject to