A&O, Mayer Brown and Cleary scoop credit crunch superfund

Allen & Overy, Mayer Brown and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have secured lead roles advising on the proposed mortgage securities superfund designed to help alleviate the impact of the credit crunch.

The $75bn superfund, to be structured by investment banks Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan, aims to acquire assets from volatile investment vehicles for more than their true value.

The fund’s aim is to help the vehicles avoid placing mortgage-backed securities into the market resulting in prices being driven down even further.

Allen & Overy and Mayer Brown are advising the three structuring banks while Cleary is advising the banks which will provide the liquidity the fund will require.

Allen & Overy, Citigroup’s longstanding structured investment vehicle (SIV) advisers, is being led by capital markets partner Geoff Fuller and securitisation partner David Krischer in London.

Mayer Brown Chicago-based securitisation partner, Jason Kravitt, is leading the firm’s team.

The Cleary Gottlieb team is being led by New York partner, David Sugerman.