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Abstract
Amend-and-extend requests are piling up in Europe as it approaches its debt maturity law. The lack of liquidity created by European economic conditions and the euro crisis, compounded by increased bank regulation (including Basel III) and many collateralised loan obligations vehicles (CLOs) reaching the end of their investment periods, means in reality it will be difficult for many transactions to be refinanced with new debt facilities. At its most basic, amend-and-extend means amending an existing facility to extend its availability by pushing back the maturity date, typically from anywhere between 18 months to four years. However no two deals will be the same, because different considerations are thrown up depending upon the nature of the credit in question.