SyCipLaw's Banking, Finance & Securities Department's Banking Bulletin for May 2023 features the latest issuances from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines), which includes the adoption of the ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible (SRF) standards, and the clarifications made by BSP on what is considered excluded from the Real Estate Loan Limit and Stress Test ...
The rules governing discrimination and psychosocial risks at work have been revised to bring them in line with European legislation and the European Court of Justice’s recent case law. Various legislation has now changed, including: the Gender Act of 7 May 2007, the Antidiscrimination Act of 7 May 2007, the Racism and Xenophobia Act of 30 July 1981, the Wellbeing Act of 4 August 1996, and the Wellbeing at Work Code. These new rules entered into force on 1 June 2023 ...
As sustainable development and social responsibility are increasingly stressed in the business community, major institutional investors have come to focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, an approach that directs socially responsible investment decisions ...
As a part of Federal agencies’ issuance of their semi-annual Spring 2023 Regulatory Agenda, the CFPB has published its Spring 2023 Agency Rule List (“2023 List”). In that List, the CFPB has set forth the status of its present rulemaking activities and its plans for such activities in the next 6 months ...
Law firms have a lot more male than female partners, though the situation is changing Business Plus June 17, 2023 Gender pay gap reporting has highlighted that across the largest law firms there is a substantial pay gap between men and women when the earnings of equity partners are included. In general terms, commercial law firms have more female than male solicitors in their ranks, but there are much more men than women at the top table ...
From recovering after a global pandemic to the war in Ukraine, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to soaring inflation, and supply-chain delays to employee shortages, businesses across all sectors are coming up against a number of operational and liquidity challenges in current market conditions. Despite these challenges, we have seen confidence and resilience across all sectors with investment from seed to IPO ...
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reinstated the test established in FedEx Home Delivery (FedEx II), lessening the requirements for a worker to be considered an employee and not an independent contractor. The decision in The Atlanta Opera, Inc., issued on June 13, 2023, overruled the 2019 SuperShuttle decision, opting to return to “common-law principles ...
We all know the feeling of making an online purchase and later regretting it - did I really need another kitchen gadget that I'll probably only use once? Luckily, by way of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which form part of retained EU law, consumers in the UK have the right to a "cooling off period" for distance contracts in certain circumstances ...
When initially approaching potential lenders it’s important to be clear about the level of flexibility you’ll need in your finance documents in order to accommodate future plans and aspirations. Amending documents and renegotiating terms is a huge drain on resources (and in current climes, costly) and your aim should be to ensure financing terms will remain fit for purpose throughout their term ...
Net migration figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the year ending December 2022 show an increase on figures from the previous year. Taking a closer look into the categories of migration behind the net figures gives further insight as to why the target to reduce net migration figures are not being met. These figures show that total immigration into the United Kingdom for 2022 was in the region of 1.2 million with emigration counted at approximately 557,000 ...
June marks ‘Pride Month’ which celebrates how far LGBTQ+ rights have come whilst also highlighting the work that still needs to be done. We consider how allies and effective employee networks can assist in this supporting ongoing progress. Employee networks are voluntary, employee-led groups aimed at providing support, resources and a sense of community for employees who may share a common identity or experience ...
Fertility is not only a ‘women’s issue’ - the impact of infertility on men can be enormous, yet regularly goes unnoticed. In light of Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day, we look at improving support for men who are experiencing fertility issues. When it comes to infertility, research and support predominantly centres around the perspectives of women ...
The Procurement Bill has now had its third and final reading and has passed the Report Stage in the House of Commons. The House of Commons’ latest amendments that have been added to the Bill include the following: If a supplier or a connected person poses a threat to the national security of the UK, this would be a mandatory exclusion ground. This is a change from previous versions of the Bill which classed this exclusion ground as discretionary ...
On June 1, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, NCUA and FHFA (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on rules to implement quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by residential mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage loan that is secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling ...
The purpose of disclosing conflicts of interest in the investment services industry is to ensure maximum transparency for the investor. A common conflict of interest is the situation when the fund’s investment manager owns voting shares in the fund and appoints a director who is already heavily involved in the investment manager’s structure. Consequently, the appointed director might be conflicted if one is required to take a decision against the investment manager ...
Good governance counts because without it a charity’s impact can be much diminished, but it is also important not to be overwhelmed by all the detail and to focus on what matters. There is a lot of guidance on governance for charities Someone once said, “With proper governance, life will improve for all ...
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has sought to consider as many voices as possible in its assessment of the vast human impact the pandemic has had on both individuals and organisations. Every Story Matters is the Inquiry’s way of doing so, enabling those in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to share their experiences of the pandemic with the Inquiry, via an online form. To date, around 6,000 people have shared their stories ...
According to a recent TUC poll of over 1,000 women, 58% have experienced sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse at work, with the perpetrator in 39% of most recent instances of harassment being a third party. Clearly, this needs to change. Harassment is still an issue at work As a result of the findings from the poll, the TUC is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill 2022-23 which is currently passing through Parliament ...
We are pleased to let you know that on 07 June 2023 the Russian parliament approved the draft law allowing the shareholders of small and medium-size enterprises to liquidate their business within a simplified procedure ...
The President of the Russian Federation instructed the Government to consider the opportunity of granting clearance for the sale of Russian legal entities controlled by “unfriendly” entities only with the consent of senior officials of the Russian regions where such entities are located. The Government should issue a report on this matter by June 15, 2023 ...
Business reorganization is a commonly utilized strategy to enhance efficiency and reduce costs within a business. Reorganization not only impacts corporate changes, but also has an effect on labour relations, which can pose certain risks. We have summarized the key labour issues that illustrate the red flags associated with corporate transactions, along with practical issues that should be taken into consideration. More details here ...
“Why don’t I own this?” The words of oil prospector Daniel Plainview to his property advisor, querying the land rights for his oil pipeline to the California coast in the Oscar winning film ‘There Will Be Blood, and a blunt, single sentence reminder of the need for early due diligence on large scale developments ...
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc., suggests that the EEOC is interested in how those policies work. It seems the EEOC wants to determine if such policies potentially violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the agency may want to pursue that interest on a national scale ...
