Elevated interest rates have led to an increase in European NPL volumes, but levels remain far below the peaks during the financial crisis period. NPL investors and servicers are rethinking their business models to adjust to...more
Demand for covered bonds is rising as investors seek opportunities to deploy capital in low-risk assets during a period of market uncertainty -
Issuance of covered bonds—bonds issued by financial institutions and backed by...more
The Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") region, particularly the United Arab Emirates ("UAE") and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ("KSA"), is experiencing a dynamic transformation in its financial sector driven by the rapid rise of...more
4/17/2024
/ Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
FinTech ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sandbox ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
On September 29, 2023, the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) introduced the new Finance Companies Regulation, which repealed the Finance Companies Regulation issued in 2018 and formally recognized "buy-now, pay-later" (BNPL) schemes...more
In a volatile global market, sukuk deals have been the engine of Islamic finance issuance across the MENAT region -
Sukuk have driven Islamic finance activity in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (the MENAT region)...more
Access to energy underpins our day-to-day and powers global economic prosperity and development, yet consumption of energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 60% of total global...more
The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has officially launched its highly anticipated licensing framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), ushering in a new era of regulatory oversight for virtual...more
11/16/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Documentation ,
Dubai ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
License Applications ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marketing ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA)
The ongoing decline in NPL volumes in 2022 and pivot towards smaller disposals leave European lenders well positioned to withstand adverse economic conditions.
Lenders are enjoying the fruits of their labours. Having...more
1. Repos in the Islamic market -
In our article titled "Repos in Islamic Finance"1 we concluded that Shari'ah-compliant repurchase transactions ("Repos") could play a useful role as a liquidity management instrument to...more
9/15/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Collateral ,
Collateralization ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Market ,
Libor ,
Liquidity ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Middle East ,
Repurchases ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
In recent years, regulators within the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) have worked to foster an environment for the sustainable growth of the UAE virtual asset sector through the enactment of several regulatory measures...more
1. Why Repos are important for the Islamic finance industry -
Islamic finance is a full-fledged financial system, including well-established banking, capital markets, money markets and insurance products and practices....more
2/24/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banks ,
Capital Markets ,
Ethical Standards ,
Financial Services Industry ,
GMRA ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Liquidity ,
Money Market Funds ,
Penalties ,
Repurchases ,
Risk Management ,
Securities ,
Social Justice Issues
What you need to know about the VARA Marketing Regulations -
Following the issuance of Law No.4 of 2022 on the Regulation of Virtual Assets in February 2022 (the "DVAL") and the establishment of the Dubai Virtual Assets...more
What does the future hold for NPLs? There's still plenty of business to be done, but buyers and sellers alike will need to change tack to get the most from the available opportunities....more
6/27/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Buyers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Institutions ,
France ,
Greece ,
Ireland ,
Italy ,
Loans ,
Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ,
Sellers ,
UK
Europe's banks continue to defy expectations—not a single country saw its banking sector’s NPL ratio increase in 2021, with the vast majority reporting an improvement....more
While the spike in bad debt and subsequent tsunami of NPL and non-core loan deals that was anticipated due to COVID-19 did not materialise, the increasingly volatile market trends may lead investors to discover new and...more
On 28 February 2022, the Ruler of Dubai issued Law No.4 of 2022 on the Regulation of Virtual Assets (the "DVAL") in Dubai, which came into effect on 11 March 2022. The DVAL is the first law in Dubai, which specifically...more
Financial institutions M&A sector trends: specialty finance/marketplace lending — H1 2021 and outlook for H2 2021 -
M&A levels dipped in H1 2021. Whilst institutional banks backed trade and B2B finance platforms and VC...more
9/29/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Banks ,
Buyers ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
National Stockpile ,
Private Equity ,
Specialty Financing ,
Venture Capital
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia overhauled its corporate insolvency framework in 2018 with the introduction of a new bankruptcy law. In this client alert we examine the new Bankruptcy law in detail.
Executive Summary -...more
NPLs are a hot topic, high on the European supervisory authorities' agenda. Legislative and prudential requirements to reduce NPLs are rapidly evolving. In March of 2018, the EC published a package of reforms aimed at...more
3/16/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Banking Sector ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Credit ,
Distressed Debt ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Council ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Greece ,
IFRS ,
Member State ,
Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ,
Proposed Amendments