On 30 March 2011, Bank of Italy published a set of supervisory provisions concerning banks’ remuneration and incentive policies and practices (the “New Regulations”) with the purpose to implement the European Directive 2010/76/EC of 24 November 2010 (“Capital Requirements Directive III” or “CRD III Directive”) ...
The Royal Decree of 3 March 2011 regarding the evolution of the supervisory architecture of the financial sector (“Koninklijk besluit betreffende de evolutie van de toezichtsarchitectuur voor de financiële sector” / “Arrêté royal mettant en oeuvre l'évolution des structures de contrôle du secteur financier”) (the “Royal Decree”) entered into force ...
The Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Portuguese State and the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission (“the Troika”) sets forth a range of goals and measures that shall be implemented by the Portuguese State in order to promote competition in the markets as a means to improve economic growth ...
Early last year, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”) and the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) jointly issued a Circular on Further Strengthening Administration of the Registration of Resident Representative Offices (“RO”) of Foreign Enterprises (“Circular”) ...
The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) published a draft Commercial Practices Guideline, which is available for public consultation on the website of the AMF until April 22, 2011. This Guideline constitutes a statement of principle on the expectations of the AMF concerning the sound commercial practices of insurers and financial institutions ...
In a letter dated April 8, 2011, to the President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”),1 Robert Plaze, Associate Director of the Division of Investment Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), stated that the SEC is expecting to adopt final rules implementing various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) applicable to investment advisers by July 21, 2011 ...
1 Collateral What types of collateral are available? Collateral used in secured financings can also be used in project financings ...
As expected, the FDIC moved against the former key officers of Washington Mutual Bank, namely its former President/CEO, COO and Home Loans President in March. The FDIC believes that these three people are responsible for WaMu’s higher risk lending program, which accounted for the bank’s huge losses. It is reported that the damages being sought against the defendants may be in excess of $900 million, which should grab anyone’s attention ...
In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit issued a decision that has potentially substantial impact on the banking community at large, especially as it relates to decisions on whether to extend credit to a debtor after he or she receives a discharge in bankruptcy. In Maryland v. Ciotti (In re Ciotti), 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4492 (4th Cir. Mar ...
Last Thursday and Friday, I was in Charlotte for the UNC School of Law Banking Institute. The conference is very deserving of its great reputation; it was very informative (Albeit after almost 6 hours of Dodd-Frank analysis on Thursday, I was just glad to be able to stand.) ...
Introduction The Great Recession is producing unprecedented levels of foreclosures1¡ªdeeds©/in©/lieu of foreclosure, bankruptcies, receiverships and other transactions in which financial institutions acquire control of real estate assets that must then be managed and sold ...
st1/:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } The long-awaited Royal Decree of 7 December 2010 on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (vastgoedbevaks/sicafi)(the “Decree”) entered into force. The new legislation brings major changes. This article gives an overview of the most important legal changes, which can broadly be categorized into four topic areas. First, the Decree establishes a moreflexible procedure for raising capital ...
In its most basic form, the guaranty is an agreement (importantly it is the guarantor’s separate contract with lender) by one party to be responsible for the debt or obligations of someone else. We all know it and love it – it is the lender’s friend. But like so many friendships, when it is built on a fundamental misunderstanding or problem, a train wreck ensues and we feel the pain ...
In the past several years, there has been an increase in cases asserting claimsunder the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, W. Va. Code§ 46A-1-101, et seq. (“WVCCPA”) relating to illegal debt collection. The success of early suits has lead to an increased number of these lawsuits ...
with the assistance of Robert La Rosa, student-at-lawOn October 28, 2010, Justice Yves Poirier of the Quebec Superior Court rendered a decision, which enforced the application of new section 54.1 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (hereinafter the “BIA”). The case, Aliments Möpure inc. (Avis d’intention et de proposition de) (“Möpure”), addressed the question of whether a creditor advancing an equity claim has the right to vote at creditors’ meetings ...
The situation is this: you represent a manufacturer in a tort dispute. During discovery, plaintiffs notice a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of your client’s representative, but elect to forgo the deposition in exchange for negligible admissions filed by your client. Discovery has closed. The trial date is looming ...
With the continuous increase of Chinese investments throughout the entire world and, particularly, in Portugal, along with the inverse phenomenon, it is extremely important to acknowledge that Portugal has already entered into double tax treaties with China and Macau, which became important instruments to be considered by companies and individuals when moving forward with their international planning strategies ...
On January 25, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new Rule 204(b)‑1 (the “Proposed Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), that would implement various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) by creating a new Form PF for use by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “FSOC”) and other regulatory agencies in assessing systemic risks posed to the U.S ...
Alternative dispute resolution benefits the public no matter what the outcome Attorney-General Robert McClelland continues to pus alternative dispute resolution after launching the report A Strategic Framework for Access to Justice in the Federal Civil Justice System late last year. One of its main recommendations is to encourage Commonwealth agencies to use ADR ...
The majority of disputes are settled before trial, and an increasing number are settled before proceedings are issued. The Civil Procedure Rules that provide the framework for litigation in England and Wales encourage parties to consider alternative ways to resolve their differences. There are a variety of techniques that can be utilised to achieve an early and cost effective settlement. Collectively, these are known as ADR ...
Tax treatment of different acquisitions What are the differences in tax treatment between an acquisition of stock in a company and the acquisition of business assets and liabilities? The main difference from the acquirer’s perspective is that there is only a step-up in the tax basis on an asset purchase, while a stock acquisition as a general rule does not allow for a step-up on the basis of the target’s assets ...
The case of the arrangement respecting White Birch Paper (the “White Birch Group”) was one of the most significant matters brought before the Commercial Division of the Superior Court of Quebec in 2010. Not only did this matter receive a lot of attention on account of its crossborder aspect and the number of parties involved, it also constituted a precedent for sales of assets under the new provisions of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Ac t (the “CCAA ”) ...
The European Parliament recently passed the Alternative Investment Funds Directive («AIFMD»). The AIFMD is focused on managers rather than investment funds and will implement broad regulatory measures on both fund managers located within the European Union («EU») and those established outside of the EU that provide asset management services to European alternative investment funds. The Swiss fund industry will have to closely examine the details of the AIFMD ...
Located on an island in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic is a growing destination for U.S. businesses seeking to establish or expand overseas operations. An economically and politically stable country organized as a representative democratic government, it is the Caribbean's largest democratic country. The Dominican Republic had an inflation rate during the past year of only 4 ...
On November 29, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) announced that FINRA Rule 5131 will take effect on May 27, 2011.1 FINRA Rule 5131 is intended to sustain public confidence in the initial public offering (“IPO”) process by regulating the allocation, pricing and trading of IPOs of equity securities (“New Issues”) ...
