Ref MC-2026 Desk Banking & Finance Jurisdiction India

The fine print behind big transactions.

Merricourt Legal advises lenders, issuers and sponsors on the deals that move capital across Mumbai and GIFT City — from syndicated facilities and bond issuances to the regulatory approvals and restructurings that keep them enforceable.

EST. NARIMAN POINT
The Mumbai skyline at dusk seen across the water, high-rise towers of the financial district on the horizon
Mumbai · Bandra Kurla Complex 19.08°N 72.88°E
18+ yrs
At the Mumbai bar
04
Transaction desks
40+
Lender & issuer mandates
02
Financial centres · Mumbai & GIFT City
A finance executive standing at the floor-to-ceiling window of a high-rise office overlooking the city

The Merricourt view

We read the commercial deal first, then the risk. A term sheet only holds up if the documents behind it survive a bad day.

Anaya Merchant — Managing Partner, Banking & Finance

Practice · four desks

The clauses we live in.

Every mandate is run by a partner who has closed the same instrument before — no learning on the client's transaction. Cross-desk where a deal demands it, single point of contact throughout.

§ 01

Lending & Leveraged Finance

Lender- and borrower-side counsel on the facilities that fund growth and acquisitions — drafted to close and to enforce.

  • Syndicated term loans
  • Acquisition & leveraged finance
  • Security packages
  • External commercial borrowings
  • Working-capital facilities
Brief this desk
§ 02

Capital Markets

Issuer and arranger counsel for public and private raises, with the disclosure discipline that keeps a listing clean long after allotment.

  • IPOs, QIPs & rights issues
  • NCD & masala-bond issuances
  • SEBI ICDR / LODR
  • Disclosure & listing
Brief this desk
§ 03

Financial Regulation

Licensing, cross-border structuring and supervisory strategy for banks, NBFCs, insurers and fintechs operating under RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.

  • RBI, SEBI & IRDAI advisory
  • Payments & fintech licensing
  • FEMA & cross-border structuring
  • AML / KYC frameworks
Brief this desk
§ 04

Restructuring & Insolvency

Lender-side workouts and resolution strategy under the IBC, structured to protect recovery and keep optionality open.

  • IBC resolution
  • One-time settlements & workouts
  • Distressed M&A
  • Inter-creditor arrangements
Brief this desk

Approach

From term sheet to drawdown.

Transactions fail in the gap between the commercial handshake and the conditions precedent. We run that gap as a defined sequence — so signing, funding and filing land on schedule.

A financial trading terminal displaying live market charts and data across dark screens

Capital markets desk · live pricing, documented positions

  1. Step 01

    Term-sheet review

    We pressure-test the commercial terms and flag the clauses that will be argued about at completion.

  2. Step 02

    Diligence

    Structured legal and regulatory diligence, reported issue-by-issue with a clear line to closing risk.

  3. Step 03

    Documentation

    Facility, security and inter-creditor documents drafted to the deal — negotiated, not templated.

  4. Step 04

    Completion & CP

    Conditions precedent tracked to signing, drawdown and filing — nothing left open on the closing checklist.

Representative mandates

Work of record, kept confidential.

Recent instructions, described in the anonymised terms our engagement letters allow.

Representative anonymised mandates by desk and the role Merricourt Legal held
MandateDeskOur role
Multi-lender acquisition financing for an infrastructure sponsor's platform buy-out Lending Lenders' counsel
Benchmark rated NCD programme for a housing-finance NBFC Capital Markets Issuer's counsel
Payment-aggregator authorisation and governance framework under RBI Regulatory Applicant's counsel
IBC resolution and inter-creditor strategy for a mid-market manufacturer Restructuring Lead resolution counsel
Cross-border external commercial borrowing with a FEMA-compliant security structure Lending Borrower's counsel

Named parties, amounts and dates are withheld under client confidentiality.

The reflective glass façade of a modern financial-district office tower
Merricourt Legal · Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai

The partners

Senior on every mandate.

You are advised by the partner who signs the opinion — not by a rotating bench of associates.

Anaya Merchant

Managing Partner · Lending

18+ years at the Mumbai bar in structured and acquisition finance. Leads lender- and sponsor-side syndications and security work.

Rohan Sethna

Partner · Capital Markets

Debt and equity issuances across the exchanges, with a focus on SEBI ICDR and LODR disclosure for issuers and arrangers.

Farida Contractor

Partner · Regulation

Advises banks, NBFCs and fintechs on RBI, SEBI and IRDAI licensing, payments authorisation and cross-border FEMA structuring.

Vikram Bhandari

Partner · Restructuring

Lender-side IBC resolution, distressed acquisitions and inter-creditor negotiation for stressed and special-situations mandates.

Start a conversation

Have a transaction that needs the fine print handled?

Tell us the deal, the counterparties and the timeline. We will tell you who leads it and how we would close it. Initial consultations are complimentary.