Matthew R. Hays, Global Vice Chair of the firm's Structured Finance & Securitization Practice, primarily advises on structured finance transactions. Mr. Hays has considerable experience with matters across a broad range of asset classes relating to structured finance transactions, warehouse facilities, asset sale and forward flow transactions, and public and private securitization transactions. He represents clients in numerous industries such as automotive finance, banking, technology, and manufacturing. 

Mr. Hays regularly provides insight on issues related to LIBOR transition and issues affecting the fintech and marketplace lending industry at conferences around the country, including ABS East, LendIt Fintech USA, SFVegas, and Lend360. Mr. Hays was recognized as a 2020 Rising Star by Private Debt Investor. Mr. Hays has also been recognized for fintech and structured finance by The Legal 500 US and for structured finance by Chambers Global.

Mr. Hays is Chair of the Securitization and Structured Finance Committee of the American Bar Association/Business Law Section. He also serves as a board member and is Co-Chair of the Editorial Review Committee of the Structured Finance Association. Prior to joining Latham, Mr. Hays was a partner at a large global law firm.

Mr. Hays' experience includes advising:

  • Affirm, Inc., Avant, Inc., Carvana Co., BFS Capital, Inc., Enova International, Inc. and loanDepot.com, LLC in connection with bank partnership arrangements; whole loan sale and forward flow programs; 144A securitization transactions; and warehouse and term financing facilities*
  • Fund managers in connection with loan purchases and financing facilities related to loans originated on platforms sponsored by Lending Club, SoFi, Freedom Plus, Square, CommonBond, Funding Circle U.S., Funding Circle U.K., Upstart, Upgrade and others*
  • Many first-time issuers in their inaugural securitization transactions, including CIM Group, Liberty Lending, First Help Financial, Bank of the West, Genesis Financial Solutions, Melody Wireless and others*
  • Asset managers in designing machine learning tools to identify LIBOR transition risks*
  • Restructuring ABS and structured finance transactions involving bankruptcy court and out of court workouts*
  • Creating ABS and structured finance products as collateral for reinsurance and insurance companies*
  • Registered mutual funds and private funds in financing facilities*
  • Multiple ABS offerings, whole loan sales, forward flow arrangements and warehouse facilities representing banks and finance companies such as Ally Financial Inc., Ally Bank, CarMax Business Services, LLC, Bank of the West and World Omni Financial Corp., backed by pools of retail auto loans, subprime auto loans, dealer floorplan loans, and vehicle leases*
  • Issuers, sponsors and fund managers in ABS offerings and warehouse facilities involving cellular sites, distributed antenna systems, personal installment loans, debt settlement loans, and solar panel loans and leases*
  • Sellers in whole loan sales and forward flow arrangements involving charged-off and performing credit card receivables, health care receivables, and point of sale loans*
  • Mortgage originators and sellers in connection with multiple mortgage repurchase facilities*
  • The ad hoc committee of term loan holders for Walter Investment Management Corp. in connection with its chapter 11 restructuring of US$2.1 billion of indebtedness*
  • S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in its €245 million acquisition of Sara Lee Corporation’s global shoe care business*
  • The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Expedia.com in connection with the spin-off of TripAdvisor, Inc.*

*Handled prior to joining Latham

Thought Leadership

  • “Fintech Advancements & Technological Innovation,” IMN ABS East Conference (October 24, 2023)
  • “Online Lending & Specialty Finance,” IMN ABS East Conference (October 18, 2022)
  • “Current Developments in Securitization and Structured Finance,” American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Annual Meeting (September 2022)
  • “Policy Watch: Life With No New LIBOR Contracts: How is the Transition Proceeding,” SFVegas (July 19, 2022)
  • “Securitization Basics: Introduction to Reference Rates,” American Bar Association’s Securitization and Structured Finance Committee, Webinar (February 3, 2022)
  • “Technology Developments: Digital Assets and Securitization,” SFVegas 2021 (October 4, 2021)
  • “Current Developments in Securitization and Structured Finance,” American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Annual Meeting (September 23, 2021)
  • “LIBOR Transition,” American Bar Association’s Virtual Securitization and Structured Finance Committee Spring Forward Special Event 2021, Virtual Conference (April 8, 2021)
  • “LIBOR Transition Update: Impact on Institutional Investors,” Capital Market Strategies and TABB Group’s Fixed Income Trading and Best Execution Summit, Virtual Conference (March 9, 2021)
  • “LIBOR Transition: Looking Forward,” Oliver Wyman, Webinar (October 15, 2020)
  • “The Current State and Outlook of the US Marketplace Lending Industry,” Opal Group’s Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit 2019, Dana Point, CA (December 8, 2019)
  • “Alternative/Marketplace Lending,” 2019 Los Angeles Investment Management Symposium, Los Angeles, CA (November 21, 2019)
  • “Alternative/Marketplace Lending,” 2019 San Francisco Investment Management Symposium, San Francisco, CA (November 19, 2019)
  • “Digital Securities: Bringing New Asset Types to the Market,” ABS East Conference, Miami Beach, FL (September 22, 2019)
  • “Securitization in Marketplace Lending – Is the Market Heading for a Slowdown?,” LendIt Fintech USA 2019, San Francisco, CA (April 9, 2019)
  • “Debt Investor Roundtable,” Opal Group’s Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit 2018, Dana Point, CA (November 29, 2018)
  • “ABS and Warehouse Facility Documents,” 2018 SFIG Legal Forum, New York, NY (June 27, 2018)

Bar Qualification

  • Illinois

Education

  • JD, Notre Dame Law School, 2008
    cum laude
  • BS, Boston College, 2005
    magna cum laude

Languages Spoken

  • English

Practices

Industries