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Portrait ofErika Papp

Erika Papp

Managing Partner
Head of Finance CEE/CIS

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Hungarian Branch Office
YBL Palace
Károlyi utca 12
1053 Budapest
Hungary
Languages Hungarian, English, German
Banking & Finance

Erika Papp is the managing partner of CMS Budapest and the Head of Finance in CEE/CIS.

Erika advises financial institutions and other companies on financial transactions and regulatory projects across the CEE region. She has several years’ experience in advising clients on real estate and project finance as well as corporate lending. She is also well-regarded for her expertise in financial institution regulation, and advises banks and businesses on capital markets, derivatives and investments in Hungary as well as in CEE. Her clients include most of the largest financial institutions in the region as well as large corporates with commercial activities in energy, real estate, telecommunications and manufacturing. 

Erika participated in developing the “Budapest rules”, the Hungarian adaptation of the London rules of financial restructuring, a system of support for companies in financial difficulty, usually involving the cooperation of a number of creditor banks. She is also an arbitrator at the Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the leader of AmCham’s Banking Regulatory Committee in Hungary.

Erika regularly speaks at international conferences and LMA seminars. She has published numerous articles and has co-authored several finance law related publications.

Erika is the founder of a charitable foundation at the Law School of Debrecen.

Erika is widely recognised as a leading individual in her field by professional legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. She is highly regarded in several categories, including Banking and Finance, Project Finance and Capital Markets. 

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"She is very good and smart. We are very glad to work with CMS in Hungary."

Chambers, 2023

"She built a very impressive practice and attracted a lot of very good people."

Chambers, 2023

"Erika Papp is fantastic, she has a real command over her subject matter and is a pleasure to work with."

Legal 500, 2022

"A lawyer who understands both the law and the client's interest."

Chambers Europe 2022

"She is very influential, experienced and has a great network. She can motivate the team."

Chambers Europe 2022

"She is perfect."

Chambers, 2021

"Super professional, always supporting the client and great at generating contacts and assisting us on expanding our networking with other business partners such banks, investment banks or other local and international investors."

Legal 500, 2021

Clients praise her "efficiency at working together and excellent client orientation," while another client describes her as "clearly a leading practitioner in the market who can find consensus in very difficult situations."

Chambers, 2020

"Her finance expertise is beyond doubt, she has long-standing expertise in the sector."

Chambers, 2020

”Erika Papp is an extremely efficient, measured and client-centric lawyer”.

Legal 500, 2020

Clients enthuse that "she always managed to overcome bottlenecks and guide us towards a solution."

Chambers 2018

Chambers notes practice head Erika Papp “is the leader of the group and has great insight into the most varied types of finance work, from the most basic to the most complex. For financing or banking she has the best team around.”

Chambers, 2015

Relevant experience

  • An international financial institution on preparing a new restructuring/reorganisation law in Hungary and on preparing a comprehensive report containing an analysis of the capital market regulation for CSDs in Target Markets.
  • The financial services company of a major OEM on its CEEU-compliance steering project for ten jurisdictions and a high-profile banking regulatory assignment also involving commercial legal advice that focused on defining the “status quo”.
  • Two major commercial banks on the multi-jurisdictional restructuring of an Italian meat manufacturing company with facilities located in Hungary, Poland, Italy and Spain. 
  • A number of commercials banks and foreign investors on financing major photovoltaic projects.
  • OTP Bank, Budapest Bank, Commerzbank, K&H Bank Hungary on a complex syndicated loan to refinance Pannonia Bio, the largest bio ethanol producer in Hungary. 
  • Hungarian oil & gas company MOL on a EUR 750m revolving credit facility provided by a group of 13 banks.
  • Erste Bank on a significant number of portfolio transfers, M&A transactions, project financing, refinancing, restructuring, and regulatory matters.
  • OTP Bank on portfolio transfers and on several financing, refinancing and restructuring projects related to the real estate, hotel and leisure industries.
  • Raiffeisen Bank on numerous high-profile project and real estate financing transactions. 
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Memberships & Roles

  • Amcham’s Regulatory Committee
  • Arbitrator, Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Member, Budapest Bar Association
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Publications

  • The Changing Banking Sector in Hungary and its Legal Challenges, CEE Legal Matters, 2020
  • Pandemic Proves Law can Work Digitally, Budapest Business Journal, 2020
  • Inside Out: Pannonia Bio Bond Issuance, CEE Legal Matters, Hungary, 2020
  • Hungary’s National Bank Fintech Strategy Combats Digitisation Lag, Fintech Futures, 2019
  • The Hungarian National Bank Seeks to Cool Down Over-Heated Real Estate Market – CEE Legal Matters, 2018
  • From Fintech to Solar Financing: What Moves the Banking Sector in 2018? – BBJ, 2018
  • FinTech in Hungary: Overview. Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law, 2018
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Lectures list

  • 2020 - CEE: Green, Grey and Danger Zones – Competition Compliance in Bank Syndications
  • 2020 - Restructuring & Insolvency series - Bankruptcy procedure
  • 2020 - Banking Law: Financial market institutions, organisational and operational rules, sectoral laws 
  • 2019 - CMS Banking Summer School
  • 2019 - LMA Conference in Budapest
  • 2019 - CMS Restructuring and Insolvency Business Breakfast Series
  • 2019 - MNB – the Academy of Financial Law (Pénzügyi Jogi Akadémia)
  • 2019 - ISDA Competence Centre Conference in Budapest
  • 2018 - Portfolio Conference: Financial IT and Disruptive Technologies
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Education

  • 1996 - General legal studies, Law School of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1995 – LL.M. in Banking, Securities and Corporate Law, Law School of Fordham University, New York, USA
  • 1992 - Doctor of Law, József Attila University, Szeged
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Capital Markets & Derivatives

Erika Papp is the managing partner of CMS Budapest and the Head of Finance in CEE/CIS.

Erika advises financial institutions and other companies on financial transactions and regulatory projects across the CEE region. She has several years’ experience in advising clients on real estate and project finance as well as corporate lending. She is also well-regarded for her expertise in financial institution regulation, and advises banks and businesses on capital markets, derivatives and investments in Hungary as well as in CEE. Her clients include most of the largest financial institutions in the region as well as large corporates with commercial activities in energy, real estate, telecommunications and manufacturing. 

Erika participated in developing the “Budapest rules”, the Hungarian adaptation of the London rules of financial restructuring, a system of support for companies in financial difficulty, usually involving the cooperation of a number of creditor banks. She is also an arbitrator at the Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the leader of AmCham’s Banking Regulatory Committee in Hungary.

Erika regularly speaks at international conferences and LMA seminars. She has published numerous articles and has co-authored several finance law related publications.

Erika is the founder of a charitable foundation at the Law School of Debrecen.

Erika is widely recognised as a leading individual in her field by professional legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. She is highly regarded in several categories, including Banking and Finance, Project Finance and Capital Markets.

more less

"She is very good and smart. We are very glad to work with CMS in Hungary."

Chambers, 2023

"She built a very impressive practice and attracted a lot of very good people."

Chambers, 2023

"Erika Papp is fantastic, she has a real command over her subject matter and is a pleasure to work with."

Legal 500, 2022

"A lawyer who understands both the law and the client's interest."

Chambers Europe 2022

"She is very influential, experienced and has a great network. She can motivate the team."

Chambers Europe 2022

"She is perfect."

Chambers, 2021

"Super professional, always supporting the client and great at generating contacts and assisting us on expanding our networking with other business partners such banks, investment banks or other local and international investors."

Legal 500, 2021

”Erika Papp is an extremely efficient, measured and client-centric lawyer”.

Legal 500, 2020

Clients praise her "efficiency at working together and excellent client orientation," while another client describes her as "clearly a leading practitioner in the market who can find consensus in very difficult situations."

Chambers, 2020

"Her finance expertise is beyond doubt, she has long-standing expertise in the sector."

Chambers, 2020

Clients enthuse that "she always managed to overcome bottlenecks and guide us towards a solution."

Chambers 2018

Focused on securities law, Erika Papp is described as a "renowned and defining character of the market" by sources.

Chambers, 2015

Relevant experience

  • OTP Bank as lead arranger on the issuing of the first Hungarian Forint Bond by Pannonia Bio (the largest Hungarian bio ethanol producer) in line with the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme (BGS) announced by the Central Bank of Hungary. During this transaction, Pannonia Bio held a successful bond auction and sold HUF 15bn to the Central Bank of Hungary.
  • OTP Bank on the issuance of wholesale targeted MREL eligible instruments. This was a rare transaction on the Hungarian market and required specific capital markets expertise.
  • An International financial institution on analysing the capital market regulations in selected jurisdictions; providing legal advice concerning general contractual law and legal notions for CSDs in Target Markets (liability terms, validity of jurisdiction submission terms, etc.) and supporting in negotiating the link contractual arrangements and agreements.
  • CIB Bank on various ISDA, GMRA and CSA documentation issues, including preparing clearing documentation and EMIR related documents.
  • OTP Fund Management on various ISDA, GMRA and CSA documentation issues, including preparing clearing documentation, EMIR-related documents and an EMIR ISDA Regulatory Margin Self-Disclosure Letter.
  • An international investment management services company on the implementation of MIFID II in 15 European countries. The client needed external advice to assist in the overview of the national implementation of MiFID II rules to ensure that it was fully compliant with the regulation and with any national gold-plating in relation to the MiFID texts.
  • A Private Equity Property Fund on the establishment of a Hungarian Property Investment Fund.
  • A Belgium-based financial services company on its relationship with the Hungarian Central Depository.
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Memberships & Roles

  • Amcham’s Regulatory Committee
  • Arbitrator, Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Member, Budapest Bar Association
more less

Publications

  • The Changing Banking Sector in Hungary and its Legal Challenges, CEE Legal Matters, 2020
  • Pandemic Proves Law can Work Digitally, Budapest Business Journal, 2020
  • Inside Out: Pannonia Bio Bond Issuance, CEE Legal Matters, Hungary, 2020
  • Hungary’s National Bank Fintech Strategy Combats Digitisation Lag, Fintech Futures, 2019
  • The Hungarian National Bank Seeks to Cool Down Over-Heated Real Estate Market – CEE Legal Matters, 2018
  •  From Fintech to Solar Financing: What Moves the Banking Sector in 2018? – BBJ, 2018
  • FinTech in Hungary: Overview. Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law. – 2018
  • Settlement with creditors in Hungarian Bankruptcy proceedings, Financier World Wide, United Kingdom, 2015
  • Why Hungary is Such a Challenging Market for Foreign Investors, CEE Legal Matters, Czech Republic, 2014
  • Value still matters, Budapest Business Journal, Hungary, 2014
  • Central Bank Assumes Functions Of Financial Supervisory Authority, World Securities Law Report, United Kingdom, 2013
  • Fiduciary trust (article in Hungarian), Napi Gazdaság, Hungary, 2013
  • The insight of day-to-day practice, Voice, Hungary, 2013
  • Hungarian legislation regulating the disclosure of banking secrets (article in Hungarian), Origo, Hungary, 2013
  • The legal aspects of the banking secrecy in Hungary (article in Hungarian), Jogi Fórum, Hungary, 2013
  • A number of new businesses/business lines can be established on fiduciary trust in the future (article in Hungarian), Origo, Hungary 2013
  • Author of the Hungarian chapter of Oxford University Press (OUP) book on a multi-jurisdictional comparative analysis of expedited corporate and debt restructuring procedures in the European Union
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Lectures list

  • 2020 - CEE: Green, Grey and Danger Zones – Competition Compliance in Bank Syndications
  • 2020 - Restructuring & Insolvency series - Bankruptcy procedure
  • 2020 - Banking Law: Financial market institutions, organisational and operational rules, sectoral laws
  • 2019 - CMS Banking Summer School
  • 2019 - LMA Conference in Budapest
  • 2019 -  CMS Restructuring and Insolvency Business Breakfast Series
  • 2019 - MNB – the Academy of Financial Law (Pénzügyi Jogi Akadémia)
  • 2019 -  ISDA Competence Centre Conference in Budapest
  • 2018 - Portfolio Conference: Financial IT and Disruptive Technologies
  • 2017 - Presenter, K&K Financing Training Institute on “New legal issues in the real estate financing”
  • 2017 - Presenter, CMS Seminar on “Cloud computing in the financial services sector”
  • 2017 - Presenter, CMS Seminar on “New Hungarian Regulations of Renewable Energy, METÁR”
  • 2016- Presenter, NPL Europe 2016 Conference by Smithnovak
  • 2014 - Presenter, Portfolio Sales Conference in London
  • 2014 - Presenter, Syndicated Loan Conference in Vienna
  • 2013 - Presenter, Europäische Rechtsakademie in Germany
  • 2013 - Presenter, MABISZ Conference in Budapest
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Education

  • 1996 - General legal studies, Law School of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1995 – LL.M. in Banking, Securities and Corporate Law, Law School of Fordham University, New York, USA
  • 1992 - Doctor of Law, József Attila University, Szeged
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