“Christophe Wauters is the best lawyer for structured loans to sovereigns and quasi-sovereign entities.”
“Christophe Wauters is excellent and very pragmatic. He knows what points to focus on and is very collaborative.”
“He never shies away from a complicated negotiation point and leaves no stone unturned.”
Biography
Christophe Wauters advises on cross-border financings and debt restructurings, with a particular focus on sovereign and quasi-sovereign transactions in emerging markets. Based in Brussels, he is a partner in White & Case’s Global Debt Finance and Global Financial Services Regulatory practices and brings more than 20 years of experience in international finance.
His sovereign finance experience includes blended and credit-enhanced financings, green and sustainable loans, sustainability-linked facilities, debt-for-development swaps and liability management transactions. He works with sovereigns, state-owned entities, commercial lenders, private credit funds, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, export credit agencies and political risk insurers.
Christophe also advises on special situations, distressed refinancings and debt restructurings involving sovereigns, financial institutions and corporates.
His broader practice covers bank lending, private credit and debt capital markets, including high-yield bond offerings. He advises on acquisition and leveraged finance, structured finance and project finance, combining transactional and bank-regulatory experience from initial financing through refinancing, liability management and restructuring.
His experience spans project finance, sovereign and quasi-sovereign transactions in 20 jurisdictions across Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, Rwanda, Zambia, Montenegro and Uruguay. His work includes infrastructure, energy and industrial projects.
Experience
Sovereign, quasi-sovereign and project finance:
Advised OCP on a €530m green loan arranged by Société Générale and BNP Paribas and benefitting from a partial credit guarantee from the African Development Bank ("ESG Energy Transition Deal of the Year, Africa" and "ESG Agribusiness Deal of the Year, Africa" at Infra Global ESG Awards 2026).
Advised the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on its inaugural €433m sustainability-linked loan arranged by Standard Chartered Bank and benefitting from the first World Bank PBG+ guarantee structure ("ECA, DFI and IFI Deal of the Year" at GBM Awards: Africa 2026).*
Advised the Republic of Benin on its €507m debt-for-development swap arranged by Deutsche Bank and benefitting from an IDA first-loss guarantee and ATIDI second-loss insurance cover ("Blended Finance Deal of the Year" at GBM Awards: Africa 2026).*
Advised the Republic of Togo on a €200m SDG facility arranged by Deutsche Bank and Legal & General Investment Management and benefitting from a first-loss guarantee from the African Development Fund and second-loss insurance cover from ATIDI ("Sovereign Loans Deal of the Year" at IFLR Awards: Africa 2026 and "Sustainable Loan Deal of the Year" at GBM Awards: Africa 2026).*
Advised the Republic of Senegal on a €300m MIGA-guaranteed facility provided by Standard Chartered Bank to fund trade-related activities aimed at enhancing the country’s food security program ("Impact Loan of the Year" at IFLR Awards: Africa 2025).*
Advised Blaise Diagne International Airport on a €300m equivalent dual-currency asset-based financing arranged by Société Générale and Standard Chartered Bank for the development of Senegal’s air hub strategic plan ("Airport Deal of the Year - Africa" at IJGlobal Awards 2024).*
Restructuring and special situations:
Advising a private credit fund on a proposed debt restructuring and capital expenditure financing, involving senior debt and preferred equity, for a privately owned hospitality group.
Advised a retail real estate group on a proposed €400m refinancing and corporate restructuring through private judicial reorganisation proceedings.
Advised the Republic of Chad on its sovereign debt restructuring, the first achieved under the G20 Common Framework.*
Advised Dexia on its orderly resolution plan and the negotiation of its €90 billion sovereign funding guarantee following the financial and sovereign debt crises of 2008–2011.*
Advised Truvo, the former Belgian Yellow Pages business, on successive debt restructurings (including Chapter 11) and ultimately its pre-pack sale to FCR Media.*
* Experience gained at previous firm
Professional Highlights
Queen's College
Chambers Global, 2026
Spotlight, Banking & Finance – Africa-wide
"Christophe Wauters is someone you want to have on your team".
"Christophe offers diligence and recognised expertise"
"Christophe Wauters is someone you want to have on your team".
"Christophe Wauters never shies away from a complicated negotiation point and leaves no stone unturned."
"He is obviously someone you want to have in your team rather than against you."
"Christophe Wauters is excellent and very pragmatic. He knows what points to focus on and is very collaborative."
"Christophe Wauters has perfect mastery and particular efficiency in managing missions."
Chambers Global, 2025
"Christophe Wauters has an exceptional capacity to negotiate detailed lending provisions without losing sight of the broader picture of a deal. He has great judgement on opportunity versus cost."
Legal 500, France, Project Finance, 2026
Christophe Wauters has perfect mastery and particular efficiency in managing missions.
