Slaughter and May and the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) have today published a new edition of the ACT Borrower's Guide to the Loan Market Association Documentation for Investment Grade Borrowers.

The Loan Market Association (LMA) Investment Grade Agreement is a benchmark in the UK and international loan markets for the documentation of syndicated loans to investment grade credits. Banks and borrowers use or refer to it on a wide range of transactions. The Guide is written as a reference tool for borrowers as they plan to borrow and navigate the terms of the Investment Grade Agreement. The Guide is a key source for comparisons where a large company uses its own standard documentation or a smaller company is considering a bank produced draft that the bank no doubt says represents 'current market practice'.

The Guide is tailored for use by treasurers rather than lawyers – though is found on the desks of many lawyers. It gives a general overview for readers unfamiliar with LMA documentation, and clause by clause commentary, highlighting key points for borrowers to address.