King & Spalding, which added bench strength in Charlotte just last month with the hiring of transportation finance partner Jason Huff, has brought aboard another partner in the same practice area.
Christopher Buchanan previously practiced law alongside Huff at Moore & Van Allen. Buchanan advises lenders and lessors on equipment finance with a particular focus on financings in the aircraft and rail sectors. He also provides counsel on claims filed with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and foreign credit agencies.
In a discussion with IFLR1000, Buchanan described an aircraft financing market whose international character grows as U.S. companies expand overseas and U.S.-registered aircraft increasingly fly internationally. In addition to transportation finance, Buchanan brings an asset-based lending component to his role.
“EX-IM Bank is a government entity that provides credit insurance to U.S. companies that are exporting to support jobs in the U.S. Often asset-based lending facilities will have that as a parallel facility for the borrower to include their shipments and accounts receivables from foreign account debtors in their borrowing base,” he said.
“When EX-IM Bank transactions have defaults, I represent banks that end up making a claims with the EX-IM Bank on the working capital guarantee program, which is similar to credit insurance. Since EX-IM Bank defaults are not typical, EX-IM Bank is profitable for the U.S. government. Although the reauthorization has been a political issue in recent years, its charter was recently renewed through fiscal year 2019,” Buchanan added.
Buchanan holds a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law and a B.A. from Rhodes College.