Earlier this month the Loan Market Association (LMA) launched a new South African recommended form of loan agreement and revised the East African and Nigerian recommended loan agreement. The new South African agreement adds a secured, single currency term loan agreement to the existing suite of South African law agreements whilst the updates to the East African and Nigerian agreement incorporate Zambian law references.

Since integrating the African Loan Market Association into the LMA in November 2013, the LMA has launched five South African recommended forms of loan agreement as well as the East African and Nigerian recommended form of loan agreement which can, with various amendments, be tailored to suit the Nigerian, Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan and now Zambian legal markets. All of these documents are broadly based on the LMA English law developing markets agreements with various amendments and supplements included to cater for local law requirements.

The LMA has organised a series of workshops and seminars both in Europe and in Africa to promote the new documentation with the hope that as African loan markets continue to mature, greater standardisation of loan documentation will lower transaction costs, speed up execution, encourage loan syndication and facilitate the development of secondary loan markets.

More information can be found on the LMA’s developing markets microsite.