Tara E. Castillo

• Counsel to a financial institution in connection with the purchase and sale of a credit card receivables portfolio and certain other securitization assets relating to a $2 billion public credit card securitization program.
• Represented a U.S. finance subsidiary of a global automobile manufacturer in its public auto securitization program and executed 29 public auto securitization transactions totaling $35 billion.
• Represented a senior lender in a $100 million syndicated financing facility of online marketplace consumer loans and credit card receivables.
• Counsel to a publicly traded consumer finance company in connection with its warehouse and 144A securitization program involving hard-secured and soft-secured consumer loans.
• Counsel to a publicly traded timeshare finance company in connection with its 144A securitization program involving timeshare receivables.
• Represented the lead arranger and administrative agent in connection with a $350 million senior secured floorplan credit facility relating to certain eligible new, used, and rental recreational vehicles.
• Represented a startup app-based vehicle subscription leasing company in connection with its acquisition and financing of a vehicle lease portfolio originated by one of the first rideshare market competitors, and the establishment of various warehouse credit facilities to finance its consumer and rideshare vehicle subscription lease programs.
• Represented a global alternative asset investment management company in connection with a non-prime auto loan purchase program leveraged by an uncommitted warehouse facility structured to be compliant with the EU risk retention rules.
• Represented a diversified consumer finance company, together with seven of its originator subsidiaries, in connection with an amortizing term loan secured by subprime auto receivables.
• Represented a leading insurance premium finance lender in several financings, including a multibank conduit-funded credit facility secured by insurance premium finance loans.

Tara Eliza Castillo is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Finance Group, leader of the Structured & Warehouse Finance Team, and co-leader of the Auto Finance Team. Tara represents clients in warehouse finance, structured finance, securitizations, and other asset-backed transactions. Tara represents borrowers, issuers, lenders, placement agents, underwriters, and other industry participants across a broad spectrum of asset classes, including auto loans and leases, consumer loans, credit card receivables, equipment, floorplan loans, insurance premium finance loans, merchant cash advance loans, online marketplace loans, residential mortgages, timeshare receivables, and trade receivables.

Tara regularly advises clients on regulatory compliance issues relating to the securitization aspects of the Dodd–Frank Act and Regulation AB II. Tara is a frequent industry speaker and has served as a guest lecturer at both the Universidad Diego Portales and Universidad de Chile law schools in Santiago, Chile, on securitization and structured finance. She is also co-author of the chapters “Securitization Readiness Considerations for Consumer Finance Companies” and “Auto Loan Securitization” in the treatise Securitization: Legal and Regulatory Issues.

Tara is nationally ranked by Chambers USA in Capital Markets: Securitisation. She was named to the 2019, 2020, and 2021 editions of The Best Lawyers in America© in securitization and structured finance law. She has also been recognized as one of Law360’s “Top Attorneys Under 40” in capital markets. Tara is co-leader of the Women’s Initiative Committee for the Washington, D.C. office.

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• New York

Education

• American University (J.D., 2007)
• New York University (M.A., 2003)
• American University (B.A., 2002)

Memberships