On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the “Act”) introduced the biggest reforms in a generation of U.K. insolvency law. It also implemented several temporary changes to both insolvency and company...more
COVID-19 has acted as an accelerator, bringing into play scenarios which were previously only contingencies and making contingencies of (and requiring planning for) situations which were previously barely imaginable. The debt...more
The ongoing events with COVID-19 and its impact on the travel industry have a number of potential implications for airlines’ derivative transactions....more
On 28 March 2020, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced key measures to protect companies and businesses facing major funding and operational difficulties in the current COVID-19...more
On March 6, 2019, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) published proposed amendments to the 2014 ISDA Credit Derivatives Definitions relating to so-called narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs). ISDA...more
The EU proposals to amend technical aspects of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), known colloquially as ‘EMIR 2.1’ or ‘EMIR Refit’, have been politically agreed. The final text is likely to be published in...more
4/3/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Alternative Investment Funds ,
Amended Regulation ,
Counterparties ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
ISDA ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Third Country Entities (TCEs) ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK Brexit
Some have expressed concern that Brexit will reduce the use of English law derivatives documentation. Any such concern is in our view unfounded, as this note explains....more
7/31/2018
/ Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) ,
Derivatives ,
English Common Law ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Insolvency ,
ISDA ,
ISDA Master Agreement ,
Recovery Plans ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Last week, the European Commission published proposals to amend the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which is the main piece of EU legislation governing derivatives markets. Among the amendments proposed is a...more
On June 23rd, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union in an advisory referendum. We expect the UK Government to commence negotiations to withdraw and to establish a framework for the UK’s new relationship with the...more
7/15/2016
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
EFTA ,
English Common Law ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Member State ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
On June 23, 2016, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union in an advisory Referendum. We expect the UK Government to commence negotiations to withdraw and to establish a framework for the UK’s new relationship with...more
On Thursday 23 June 2016, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union. While this vote was advisory in nature, we expect that ultimately the UK Government and Parliament will respect the outcome and serve notice to...more
6/29/2016
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Judgments ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Popular ,
Scotland ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
WTO
Today, it was announced that the UK public has voted to leave the European Union. There will now be a negotiation of a new relationship between the UK and Europe. The fact of the vote itself has no legal effect on the laws of...more
On May 24, 2016, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) adopted a final rule defining the cross border application of its margin requirements for uncleared swaps. The final rule covers all swap dealers and...more
The UK is holding a referendum on 23 June 2016 to decide whether or not to remain a member of the European Union. There seems to be a disconnect between some aspects of public discourse on the vote and the actual effect of an...more
The European Commission has adopted an “equivalence” decision on the derivatives regulatory regimes for derivatives clearing organisations in the United States. This follows the decisions adopted in November 2015 for Canada,...more
The obligation for central clearing of OTC derivatives under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation will apply from June 2016. A Delegated Regulation that imposes a mandatory clearing obligation for interest rate swap...more
The European Commission has adopted “equivalence” decisions on the derivatives regulatory regimes for central counterparties in Canada, Mexico, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Switzerland. This follows the decisions...more
Implementation of the obligation for central clearing of OTC derivatives under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation now seems imminent. The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation that would impose a...more
The European Commission has adopted “equivalence” decisions on the derivatives regulatory regimes for central counterparties in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Further decisions are awaited for other jurisdictions...more
5/28/2015
/ Australia ,
CCPs ,
Derivatives ,
EMIR ,
Equivalency Determinations ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Hong Kong ,
Japan ,
Singapore ,
Trade Repositories
The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) introduces an EU-wide regime for recovery and resolution planning for, and for resolution action to be taken in respect of, banks and large investment firms (typically the...more
In this note we analyse some of the consequences for sovereign CDS resulting from a vote for Scottish independence.
Scotland: The Succession Event Question -
A vote for an independent Scotland will have many...more
On 18 September 2014, the referendum on Scottish independence will take place. Opinion polls suggest that the outcome is too close to call. This note highlights various legal issues related to the referendum and Scottish...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority is consulting on the mandatory clearing obligation for certain derivatives. Draft regulatory technical standards have been published for the mandatory clearing of certain interest...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has imposed for the first time a requirement that certain swaps be traded on a regulated market. Beginning February 15, 2014, certain cleared interest rate swaps and index credit...more
The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR1) imposes new reporting, clearing, collateral and conduct of business requirements on all derivatives market participants which are based in the EU or deal with EU...more