Legal framework for secured corporate bonds in Latvia: proposal for a new regulation introducing the concept of a collateral agent

Abstract

Access to finance is considered as one of the key factors to successful financial market development. European companies face problems with corporate funding which is treated as one of the main barriers to corporate growth and innovation capacity. Corporate bonds represent an alternative source of funding, contributing to a reduction of dependency on more traditional bank financing. Despite the present growth of the corporate bond market in Latvia, the current legal environment for collateralization of the corporate bond in Latvia remains comparatively inflexible for the changes ongoing. The goal of this thesis is to provide a theoretical background for the procedure of issuance of secured corporate bonds in Latvia, to identify the key missing elements for favourable collateralization environment, and to produce recommendations to reform the legal and regulatory framework for the introduction of the concept of a collateral agent in Latvia.