La nature juridique des pools bancaires

Syndicated loans - the legal nature of the syndicate

• Auteur / Autrice : Youmna Zein
• Direction : Christian Larroumet
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Droit privé
• Date : Soutenance en 1997
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 2

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Banques -- Droit

France

Droit

Syndicats financiers

Résumé

Deux ou plusieurs banques peuvent se reunir en vue de partager la charge d'un credit octroye ou a octroyer a un emprunteur : elles forment un pool bancaire. En l'absence de toute reglementation de la matiere, la determination de la nature juridique des pools bancaires s'impose afin de combler les lacunes du contrat ou d'en interpreter les clauses obscures. Il existe deux principales varietes de pools bancaires selon que toutes les banques membres du pool sont ou non juridiquement liees a l'emprunteur : les pools reveles et les pools occultes. Chacune d'elles doit faire l'objet d'une operation de qualification en trois etapes. Il s'agit de prendre pour point de depart la pratique contractuelle des pools. Une telle analyse conduit a distinguer, au sein des pools reveles, les pools d'engagement et les pools de concertation, et au sein des pools occultes les pools en risque, en tresorerie et en risque et tresorerie, ceux issus d'une syndication indirecte et ceux issus d'une sous-participation, ceux issus d'une syndication partielle et ceux issus d'une syndication totale. La pratique contractuelle des pools bancaires ainsi systematisee, il s'agit de rechercher la nature juridique des differentes formes de pools repertoriees. A cet egard, si la societe creee de fait permet de rendre compte du plus grand nombre de pools, d'autres qualifications doivent aussi etre retenues : le contrat de cautionnement, le contrat de pret, le contrat de cooperation sui generis, la cession de contrat et la cession de part. Le point d'aboutissement de l'operation de qualification consiste a operer un un retour a la pratique afin de preciser, a la lumiere du regime juridique de la categorie retenue, le regime de la forme de pools examinee. C'est la, de toute evidence, l'interet essentiel de la qualification.

By the mere fact that two or more banks resolve to join the burden of granting a loan to a borrower, a loan syndicate is constituted. The lack of specific legislation regulating the matter imposes the need to define the legal nature of the loan syndicate in order to remedy the deficiency in the terms of the agreement and to construe the obscure provisions. Depending on whether member banks are legally tied with the borrower, one can suggest to classify mainly two types of loan syndicates : the disclosed syndicates and the undisclosed ones. Each of the two types needs to be subjected to a characterization process in three steps. The starting point seems to be imposed by the terms and conditions created by the practice. Within the disclosed syndicates, one can notice the existence of concertation syndicates as opposed to commitment syndicates. In the category of undisclosed syndicates, the differentiation resides under the criterion of either risk or funding or both. A further discrimination leads to classify loan syndicates depending on whether they are the result of indirect participation or sub-participation and depending on the pooling being partial or total. Having thus conducted a systematized analysis of the practice's impact in the agreements, one can determine the legal nature of the different types of loan syndicates so classified. In this respect, the partnership seems to be the most common dress for loan syndicates. Nevertheless, other legal structures may as well be selected such as the guarantee, the lending agreement, the cooperation (sui generis), the assignment of agreement or the transfer of share. The process of characterization ends with a way back reverting to the practice in an effort to emphasize on the form construction of the syndicated pool in the light of the legal concept selected. Here is obviously the fundamental interest of identifying the legal nature of the agreement reached in syndicating a loan.