Following the recently reported hack of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s social media account yesterday (10 January 2024), the SEC formally announced that it had approved the launch of 11 Bitcoin ETFs in the US. As the announcement states, these approvals are not an endorsement of cryptocurrency as an “investment” or of any of the issuers of the ETFs themselves ...
Jon Bew and Wayne Gibbard, co-heads of the Financial Services Sector at Shoosmiths, comment on upcoming trends and developments to expect in 2024 for the sector. Everyone is feeling it, the rumbling of a technological storm. The immergence of generative AI, RegTech and increased fraud and cyber risk, have swept clouds of uncertainty across the Financial Services Sector… ...
Compliance Will Need Banks to explain “How the AI Systems Work” Delano Magazine Written by: Kangkan Halder Published on 24.12.2023 The growing role of artificial intelligence in processing information for legal documentation and counsel won't eliminate the need for human lawyers or ethical judgments, argue Marc Mouton and Astrid Wagner, partners at Arendt & Medernach ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. DATAGROUP, advised by Heuking, acquires iT TOTAL AG A team led by Dr. Rainer Herschlein and Benedikt Raisch legally advised DATAGROUP SE on the acquisition of iT TOTAL AG. DATAGROUP thus expands its footprint in southwest Germany and enhances its position with attractive customers and experienced IT professionals ...
The current exposure in the EU investment fund sector to the risks in real estate markets has been the subject of a recent publication, dated 10th January 2024, which was issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) as part of its ongoing Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities (“TRV”) risk analysis ...
On Dec. 13, 2023, in a 4-1 vote, the Federal Communications Commission finalized new rules to close the so-called lead generator robocall and robotexts loophole, marking a significant paradigm shift in lead generation practices. On Dec ...
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., made industry news, important banking and financial rule changes were implemented, and Georgia's Department of Banking and Finance quietly issued important new regulatory guidance on a handful of topics. Warnock Addresses Banking Committee, Introduces Legislation First, during a three-plus hour U.S ...
Shoosmiths’ Technology Sector Group comments on upcoming trends and developments to expect in 2024 for the sector. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Alex Kirkhope – IT & Tech Partner With Collins Dictionary naming “AI” its word of the year, there is no disputing that artificial intelligence has been the world’s most talked about technology of 2023 ...
Insurance contracts, like any other type of contract, require informed consent by all signatories. This concept is especially relevant considering that an insurance contract is an example of uberrimae fidei, i.e. an agreement requiring the utmost and the most absolute good faith when one party is disclosing facts that could influence the other party?s decision. In other words, policyholders are held to a high degree of honesty when providing their insurers with information ...
Crypto assets are a rapidly evolving and highly innovative sector of the financial industry, offering new opportunities and challenges for businesses, consumers and regulators. Crypto assets are digital representations of value or contractual rights that use cryptography and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries ...
The UK government has recently proposed new regulations to strengthen security measures for data centres operating in the UK. The new regulations aim to protect data centre facilities against potential disruption, including cyber-attacks, physical threats, and extreme weather events ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage Roman Ettl-Steger, Salaried Partner based at the Munich office, and an interdisciplinary team from Heuking comprehensively advised a group of entrepreneurs and senior managers, led by family entrepreneur Martin Schoeller, on the structuring of GESI Green Energy Storage Initiative SE (GESI) ...
ESG is in high alignment with China's "dual carbon" goals and has become an important indicator for measuring the sustainable and high-quality development of enterprises in China. Adopting a top-down approach, the Chinese central government has codified the importance of green and sustainable development in policy papers and Five-Year Plans ...
Frank C. Aase has more than 16 years of experience assisting companies facing financial challenges, providing support to banking and company clients. He is regularly appointed as a trustee in bankruptcy and serves as the leader of the Norwegian Bar Association’s legal committee for bankruptcy, composition, security rights, enforcement, and debt collection. Frank comes from Brækhus Advokatfirma, where he previously served as managing partner ...
Guernsey: an ideal domicile for continuation funds Guernsey provides an ideal domicile for continuation funds, with proportionate, principle-based regulation, and a neutral tax environment, facilitating quick-to-market establishments and competitive ongoing costs ...
Carey Olsen's Steven Rees Davies recognised as leading FinTech and blockchain practitioner Who Who's Legal has featured Steven in its 2023 FinTech and Blockchain Report, which recognises leading FinTech and blockchain legal practitioners from across the world. The report showcases lawyers with extensive experience in the FinTech and blockchain space and those that are well practised in assisting clients with implementing blockchain solutions and providing cyber security advice ...
Inflation and increasing interest rates continued to dominate headlines in financial markets in 2023. As central banks struggled to combat inflation and interest rates continued to increase, borrowers’ borrowing costs increased throughout the year. Increased borrowing costs caused some borrowers to default on their loans, requesting waivers and amendments or initiating a restructuring of their debt ...
Mergers – recent cases On 15 December 2023, Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer portfolio was unconditionally cleared after a phase II investigation. The market for banking services holds great significance for Norwegian consumers, prompting a thorough examination of Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer operations by the NCA ...
Norway fully integrated the provisions of PSD2 and the Payment Accounts Directive into its legal system with the entry into force of the new Financial Agreements Act on January 1, 2023. The Norwegian Central Bank made significant strides in its exploration of digital central bank currency, completing the fourth phase of its initiative. This phase focused on testing and validating technical solutions, with findings reported on December 18, 2023, indicating successful outcomes ...
Beginning January 1, 2024, companies created or registered in the United States will have to report information about their ownership to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, pursuant to The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA” or the “Act”). For more information, see our prior alert on this topic here ...
Embezzlement and fraud within nonprofit organizations has reached epidemic proportions. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s (2020) Global Study which contains an analysis of 2,504 cases of occupational fraud that were investigated between January 2018 and September 2019, 70 percent of frauds occurred in nonprofit organizations ...
By: Daniel Silva, Sanjay Bhandari, and Manisha Malhotra The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) emerged as a lifeline for small businesses grappling with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenders navigated a landscape of regulations that Congress quickly drafted in response to the pandemic. These regulations and obligations evolved, subtly yet materially, from the first and second rounds of PPP “draws ...
