The LMA is pleased to share its end of year Fund Finance Insights paper. The Insights series is intended to enhance understanding of this growing asset class. 

This latest paper explores the evolution of liquidity solutions in the market.  Whilst subscription facilities remain the cornerstone, financing tools increasingly sit alongside broader liquidity solutions such as continuation vehicles (CVs) and collateralised fund obligations (CFOs).  These innovations create opportunity but also complexity.

This latest Insights paper draws on perspectives from leading market participants to explore:

• The expanding liquidity toolkit
• LP sentiment and navigating complexity
• Transparency and alignment – the cornerstone of trust 
• Voices from the market – wish list and predictions for 2026 
• Final reflections and a call for collaboration.

Following the publication of the LMA Day One ZARONIA Agreement and the update of the South African Rate Switch Agreement to recommended form, the LMA has updated its existing South African Rate Switch Commentary to cover both the Day One ZARONIA Agreement and the unsecured and secured Rate Switch Agreements.  

The LMA welcomes market feedback on the Day One ZARONIA Agreement by 30 January 2026.  Stay tuned for an LMA webinar in January 2026 which covers the latest developments as well as the publication of the Day One ZARONIA Agreement. 

To further support the market’s transition from JIBAR to ZARONIA, the LMA is pleased to have published three key documents: 

• Exposure draft day one ZARONIA facility agreement (with comments due by 30 January 2026)
• Recommended form SA rate switch agreement (unsecured)
• Recommended form SA rate switch agreement (secured)

An updated commentary on the interest rate provisions in these documents will be made available shortly. 

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced that the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) will be permanently discontinued after its final publication on 31 December 2026. ZARONIA is the designated preferred successor rate. 

Market participants are urged to accelerate transition efforts, update contracts, reduce reliance on JIBAR and ensure operational readiness for ZARONIA. 

The LMA continues to support the market in the transition and will shortly be publishing a day one ZARONIA facility agreement. 

For full details, please read the SARB Announcement 

The LMA has been reviewing the implications of comments made in the English court decision in Macdonald Hotels v Bank of Scotland around the English law requirements for a deed to be clear on its face that it is a deed. The LMA welcomes the memorandum issued by the Financial Law Committee of the City of London Law Society (CLLS), which affirms the sufficiency of the LMA’s intercreditor documentation. The LMA does not intend to amend the testimonium provision in its intercreditor documentation.  

The LMA note can be accessed here and the CLLS memorandum can be accessed here.    

For further discussion, please feel free to contact Kam Hessling at Kam.hessling@lma.eu.com.    

We will review all responses and reply individually, if you choose to share your details.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday period and all the best for 2026.

On 20 November 2025, we co-signed a joint statement setting out concerns from the perspective of investors on the European Commission's proposed reforms regarding the EU securitisation framework. The joint statement sets out the shared views of the LMA and six other trade associations (AFME, AIMA, EFAMA, IACPM, ICMA and MFA).  

While supportive of the underlying intents behind the ongoing review, the associations are concerned that certain measures currently under discussion risk discouraging investment in securitisations, thereby undermining the Commission’s stated objective of growing the market. We collectively call on co-legislators to make improvements that will enable demand for securitisation in Europe to grow in the context of a robust and resilient regulatory framework.

Institutional investors have become a valued source of additional capital and catalyst for innovation in the fund finance market. However, their participation as lenders impact how transactions are structured and documented.

In our latest insights paper, Shelley Morrison (Head of Fund Finance at Aberdeen) and Kam Hessling (Managing Director at the LMA) explore:

• The participation of institutional lenders in fund finance
• Practical structuring considerations, including operations, loan structure and funding timescales
• Investment entry points and diligence requirements
• The role of ratings
• Withholding tax and gross- up obligations
• Transferability provisions
• Future outlook