Introduction On 22 December 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (‘MFSA’ or ‘the Authority’) issued a stakeholder consultation on the proposed establishment of a new framework for Notified Professional Investor Funds (‘NPIFs’). The NPIF framework proposal seeks to introduce a new fund structure, complementing the existing fund frameworks in Malta ...
On January 5, 2023 the SEC announced a settled Administrative Proceeding with Randy Robertson. Mr. Robertson previously served as the co-portfolio manager for the BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (“BIT”). While serving as the co-portfolio manager for BIT, Mr. Robertson explored the possibility of a BlackRock investment opportunity regarding a potential secured lending investment relating to print and advertising expenses associated with film distribution. Mr ...
HUD-insured debt may be a narrow field within the broader realm of commercial real estate finance, but it never ceases to amaze me the variety of issues that I encounter within the relatively small HUD sandbox. Dinsmore’s work as lender’s counsel on a recent multifamily 223(f) loan had me grappling with issues related to sovereign immunity, a legal concept that had barely entered my consciousness since graduating from law school ...
Governments and authorities worldwide are placing increased emphasis on stricter financial controls tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons trafficking. As a leading global financial hub, the Cayman Islands is at the forefront of this arduous challenge. An example of its success is the introduction of a rigorous beneficial ownership regime (BOR) ...
In early 2022, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the AMF) conducted specific consultations on financial products offered on the Internet. Further to these consultations, the AMF published explanations on the Regulation respecting Alternative Distribution Methods (the RADM) in late December 2022 ...
as published in West Virginia Banker magazine, Winter 2022 In October 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independent funding structure violates the U.S. Constitution’s Appropriations clause and the principle of separation of powers. The Dodd-Frank Act, passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, provided that the CFPB would not be funded through Congressional appropriations ...
On 16 January 2023, the Financial Market Commission ("CMF") published in its web site and invited to submit comments to a regulatory proposal involving the issuance of two rules: (i) the general rule that will regulate the requirements and procedures for registration in the Registry of Financial Services Providers (the "RPSF") and (ii) the general rule that will regulate the authorization to provide investment advisory services by persons registered in the RPSF (the "Proposed Rule") ...
On January 16, 2023, the Commission for the Financial Market (“CMF”) announced the beginning of the implementation of Law No. 21,521, known as the “Fintech Law”, which will come into force on February 3, 2023. The entry into force of the Fintech Law is an extremely relevant milestone for the financial industry since, among other things, it establishes a regulatory framework for services based on Fintech technologies that were not regulated by our legislation ...
Hot on the heels of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 fully entering into force on 4 January 2023, the three streamlined routes under which UK public authorities will be able to give subsidies without having to assess each one against the subsidy control principles have recently been laid before Parliament: Subsidy Control Act 2022: Streamlined Routes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The routes cover (i) research development and innovation (ii) energy usage and (iii) local growth ...
A recent California decision provides clarity on a lender’s ability to charge late fees for missed loan payments, which should be of interest to all lenders operating in California. In Honchariw v. FJM Private Mortgage Fund, LLC, et al.,[1] the California First District Court of Appeals held that late payment fees assessed against the entire unpaid principal balance of a loan constitutes unlawful penalties under California Civil Code Section 1671 ...
On 30 December 2022, the Central Bank of Myanmar issued letter No. FE-1/2861(Ka) concerning the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee Meeting Resolution No. (78/2022). The most pressing issue faced by foreign companies in Myanmar was resolved by the decisions made in paragraphs 1(d) of the meeting resolution no. 78/2022 ...
In the world of privacy and data, after another whirlwind year, what are the safe bets and the long shots for change in 2023? Like the technology driving it, privacy and data law moves fast, and covers many territories, so it’s not always easy to keep track of developments. Long-awaited rulemaking - such as an overarching US federal data protection law – can get stuck in the weeds, while unexpected developments in technology and politics can serve up some complete surprises ...
Cyber criminals, the twenty-first century equivalent to the highwaymen of yesteryear, don’t offer charities the stark alternative of “their money or their life”, but instead their money or their data, the lifeblood of many charities. Ransomware attacks present a critical risk of their services grinding to a halt for weeks if not months – even if data is restored - as well as swingeing fines for personal data breaches in multiple jurisdictions ...
Goldman Sachs can’t make profits in the FinTech sector, as reported recently in the Financial Times newspaper. Competition must be tough. Where is competition coming from? A source, still arguably on the edges, is BigTech, who are using FinTech essentials (digital technology and big data) to become a player in the financial services market ...
The Charity Commission has today (17 January) begun a public consultation on proposed new guidance for charities’ use of social media. It encourages charities to adopt a social media policy which is right for them. Social media presents charities with great opportunities to campaign and comment, to communicate the value they create and to fundraise. But these channels also present serious risks for charities ...
The Online Safety Bill is to be amended to include an offence for officers or senior managers of key tech companies who fail to comply with duties to protect children online. As currently drafted, the offence will apply to senior managers and officers (or those purporting to fulfil such functions) of "user-to-user services" (better known as social media sites, but they could include many online businesses, including forums, online gaming sites and cloud storage providers) ...
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”) is part of the Digital finance package adopted in 2020 by the EU Commission to further enable and support the potential of digital finance in terms of innovation and competition, while mitigating the risks arising from it. DORA enters into force on 16 January 2023 ...
On 19 October 2022, the Council of the EU announced that political agreement (the ‘Political Agreement’) had been reached with the EU Parliament on the review of the Regulation on European long-term investment funds (the ‘ELTIF Regulation’) ...
Matters of cross-border company mobility are addressed at European Union level by means of Directive (EU) 2017/1132 (the “2017 Directive”) which provides for cross-border mergers and domestic divisions of public limited liability companies ...
Operating expenses (“OpEx”) and common area maintenance fees (“CAM”) are two important items in any commercial lease, but they are often overlooked after the decision is made on how to split up these fees. Typically, operating expenses are calculated and allocated based on a gross, modified gross, or triple net basis, with the tenant being responsible for a percentage of CAM based on the percentage of the total property they occupy ...
This briefing sets out the key requirements of PIPA and the steps that your organisation can take to prepare for its implementation. PIPA coming into force PIPA was enacted in 2016 to regulate the use of personal information in Bermuda by individuals, companies, public authorities and other organisations ...
We have recently seen reports about the unbelievable amount of pressure on the NHS, including inaccessibility to GPs; a high degree of emergency admissions; and bed-blocking within hospitals where vulnerable patients cannot be discharged safely. These factors have exacerbated the pressure on our healthcare system to almost unprecedented levels. Medical technologies or MedTech could be the way forward to ease some of the pressure ...
With the well-known challenges of the last ten months or so, market conditions deteriorated substantially over 2022 and the venture capital (VC) market became a far more challenging one in which to agree a valuation and raise money. While those challenges are not over, from speaking to VC clients and others, there's a cautious optimism that as 2023 progresses the market will slowly improve ...
