Pari Passu

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pari passu is a Latin phrase that literally means "with equal step." It is sometimes translated as "part and parcel," "hand-in-hand," "with equal force," or "moving together," and by extension, "fairly," "without partiality." In law, this term is commonly used as legal jargon. Black's Law Dictionary (8th ed., 2004) defines pari passu as "proportionally; at an equal pace; without preference." In finance, this term refers to two or more loans, bonds, classes of shares having equal rights of payment or level of seniority. For asset management firms, the term denotes an equal allotment of trades to strategically identical funds or managed accounts. This term is also often used in bankruptcy proceedings where creditors are said to be paid pari passu, or each creditor is paid pro rata in accordance with the amount of his claim. Here its meaning is "equally and without preference."