Regional and Global Product Awards Entry and Evaluation Criteria 

The AFJ Global Awards recognise excellence among market participants on deals across the airline, lessor and OEM financings in all regions around the world. The Awards will be judged by an external, expert judging panel from a shortlist determined by the AFJ editorial team. 

They celebrate the pivotal role played by companies participating in one, or more, of the most outstanding air finance transactions that reached financial close and funded in the 2021 calendar year.  

The AFJ editorial team – together with the independent panel of expert judges -  look for deals that include one or more of the following elements: 

• Innovation – Who is truly innovative and shaping new financing structures in the marketplace? The judges want to hear about the participants’ roles in executing pathfinder transactions, such as those using new finance structures 

• Timing – The judges will take into consideration the timeline for the transaction, including complexity and length of time from mandate award to financial close 

• Size – Size can be a strong factor taken into the judges’ consideration but quality of the deal is also important 

• Complexity – The judges like to see complex new structures but can also be persuaded by execution of simple financings that set new benchmarks, are for new issuers or attract new investors 

• Overcoming obstacles – Transactions where participants overcame almost insurmountable obstacles such as tight deadlines, volatile market conditions, unattractive asset type or bringing a new product/structure to market will be rated highly 

Did the transaction create a new market benchmark? - Did the transaction reach a new LTV threshold for a given rating or a new coupon or spread low? Did the transaction bring a new entrant to the market? 

Submissions should demonstrate that the nominated deal meets at least two of the above elements and moved the market forward. They should include as much information as possible about the unique features of each deal, highlighting obstacles that had to be overcome, as well as identifying elements that set it apart from other transactions to have closed in that region or category. 

To be considered for an AFJ Global Award, a transaction must have closed and funded between 1 January and 31 December 2021.  

Team Awards Criteria   

Entries for these categories will be judged on the following criteria. 

• Effective Communication 

• Adaptability 

• Collaboration 

• Vision 

• Commitment 

Please ensure at least two of these criteria are referenced in your submission. We also encourage that the full team be credited where appropriate.