CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Karaleev Stefan |
|---|---|
| Title | Bonds as an Alternative to Bank Lending in Project Finance |
| Summary | This thesis examines the alternatives to bank lending for project finance with an emphasis on project bonds. In recent years, the banking sector has been subject to increasing regulation adhering to international standards by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the latest being the Basel III regulations and their updates. This has significantly reduced the ability of banks to provide the long-term loans required to finance infrastructure projects, such as highways, bridges, and power plants. This shift has created the need for project sponsors to turn to new sources of financing, including tapping the bond markets. In this context, this thesis aims to examine the current regulatory environment of project finance, the challenges and opportunities in seeking alternative funding sources. It first analyzes project finance with an emphasis on the role of bank lending in the process. Subsequently, it discusses the relevant aspects of the Basel III Regulations that have led to the disruption of the traditional syndicated bank loan model. The focus then shifts to alternatives, such as refinancing, infrastructure debt funds, and most importantly, project bonds. The thesis employs doctrinal legal research and industry practice with regard to project finance, international regulations on banks, and U.S. capital markets law as one of the key global regulatory benchmarks for the issuance of project bonds. The lessons from the thesis are widely applicable to jurisdictions with developing capital markets with a rising demand for investment in infrastructure projects. |
| Supervisor | Tajti Tibor |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/karaleev_stefan.pdf |
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