On 27 May 2020, Abu Dhabi Global Market’s (ADGM) founding law, Abu Dhabi Law No (4) of 2013 (the “Founding Law”), was amended in a number of important respects to bring greater certainty to the scope of jurisdiction of the...more
The English High Court has recently handed down a long-awaited judgment concerning a claim for damages against a provider of Self Invested Personal Pension schemes (“SIPPs”)....more
Financial institutions operating across multiple jurisdictions face a myriad of regulatory challenges, including those arising from differences between regulators in: (a) the substance of their laws, regulations and...more
European banks operating across multiple jurisdictions face a set of specific regulatory challenges, including...more
The U.K. Government has announced a £1.25 billion funding package for high-growth businesses driving innovation and development in the U.K. The package will be launched in May, with some payments expected to be made by...more
For the first time since the last financial crisis started in August 2007, issues of systemic financial risk have come to the fore. Legal analysis, and an assessment of legal rights, obligations and liabilities, is vital for...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
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
The FCA has published a series of measures and regulatory guidance on how financial services firms should deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In our previous client notes, “Planning in a Time of Pandemic:...more
4/1/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Consultation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Planning ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payment Systems ,
Relief Measures ,
Short Sales ,
telephone-recording ,
UK ,
UK Payment Systems Regulator
The Bank of England (BOE) has announced a series of policy measures designed to help U.K. financial market participants deal with the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The latest measures, announced on 20 March...more
The economic and operational stresses caused by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) are highlighting the need for regulated financial institutions to formulate responses to address significant business disruptions (SBDs) and to...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced regulatory forbearance for banks and investment firms subject to the upcoming reporting obligation under the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation...more
European Securities and Markets Authority Takes Steps to Improve Transparency in Light of Disruption to EU Financial Markets Arising from COVID-19 Pandemic -
Effective 16 March 2020, all holders of net short positions in...more
This is the first edition of U.K. Business Crime Review— an annual publication focused on the outcomes, trends and developments over the past 12 months that are likely to be of interest to businesses operating in the United...more
EU DEVELOPMENTS -
Corporate and Capital Markets -
Institutional Investment: ESMA Report on Undue Short-Term Pressure on Corporations (Corporate Aspects) -
On 18 December 2019, the European Securities and Markets...more
1/22/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Prospectus ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Venture Capital
The U.K. House of Commons has approved the Withdrawal Agreement. Assuming this is ratified by the EU, and Royal Assent is achieved in time, the U.K. will leave the EU on January 31, 2020, entering into a “transition” or...more
1/15/2020
/ Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
EU Action Plans ,
European Commission ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Framework Agreement ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
U.K. revisions to its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regime come into force on 10 January 2020.
The U.K.’s revisions implement the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, commonly...more
1/10/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
FATF ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HM Treasury ,
Private Sector ,
Risk Assessment ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
Below is a summary of the main developments in US and EU corporate governance and securities law and certain financial markets regulation developments since our last update in July 2019.
...more
10/18/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Corporate Issuers ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Global Marketplace ,
Member State ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions
Yesterday, the EU and U.K. in principle agreed new terms for the withdrawal agreement giving effect to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. These include a revised political declaration and protocol concerning Northern...more
10/18/2019
/ Bilateral Agreements ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Regulations ,
Northern Ireland ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave a speech on Tuesday, October 8, that touched upon recent events in the repo market. We discuss below certain aspects of this speech in the context of the market discussion regarding...more
SOFR – the secured overnight funding rate in USD – is a rate published by the New York federal reserve based upon secured overnight transactions in the repo market. It is of increasing importance, since it has been regarded...more
Below is a summary of the main developments in US and EU corporate governance and securities law and certain financial markets regulation developments since our last update in April 2019.
...more
The expanded Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), which comes into force on December 9, 2019, extends the framework regulating individuals charged with running certain financial institutions. The Banking SM&CR,...more
7/9/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Brokers ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Investment Adviser ,
Senior Management Regime (SMR) ,
Senior Managers ,
SMCR ,
UK
U.S. DEVELOPMENTS -
SEC and NYSE/Nasdaq Developments -
SEC Proposes to Expand “Testing the Waters” Exemption to Permit Pre-Offering Communications -
On 19 February 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
6/24/2019
/ Climate Change ,
Commission Delegated Regulation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Green Bonds ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IOSCO ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal European, US and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to European corporates.
...more
4/25/2019
/ BEIS ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Italy ,
Nasdaq ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
UK