Summertime is holiday time. Although the worldwide travel warning issued by the Federal Foreign Office for some European countries was lifted on 15 June 2020, currently (as of 17 July 2020, 5:30 p.m.) 130 countries are still classified as risk areas. These include Turkey and the USA, which are popular destinations for German holidaymakers ...
Since the launch of the Main Street Lending Program, the Federal Reserve (through the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which is implementing the program) issued updates on July 15, 2020 and July 31, 2020 to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQ”), originally published on April 30, 2020, for the three loan facilities available to for profit businesses ...
In order to tackle the effects of the Corona crisis, it is planned at EU level to temporarily facilitate the raising of equity capital for companies. This will enable certain issuers to publish a shortened prospectus with only 30 pages instead of a full prospectus to issue shares. Through this, issuers will have the option to issue shares at short notice, without bureaucracy and inexpensively, thereby improving the debt-to-equity ratio in their balance sheets ...
In addition to its devastating effects on the global population, the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered operations in both the public and private sectors. Before elected officials could consider pandemic-related legislation aimed at assisting their constituents, state legislatures faced the difficult task of carrying out their legislative functions while ensuring the health and safety of members, staff, and the public ...
In response to a lawsuit filed by the State of New York, a judge in the Southern District of New York considered and invalidated parts of the Department of Labor's (“DOL”) Final Rule implementing the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The ruling, while currently only applying to employers in the Southern District of New York (i.e., New York City), could be instructive on how other courts consider the same provisions ...
On 10 July 2020, the MA issued an updated Guideline, superseding the 2018 version. The Guideline provides guidance in relation to the Banking Ordinance’s minimum criteria for obtaining a banking or deposit taking license. Several technical changes have been made following recent changes to the supervisory regime ...
(a) ARRC’s best practice for completing LIBOR transition In May 2020, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC), the industry group formed in 2014 to lead the LIBOR transition in the United States, published a set of recommended best practices (“Best Practices”) to help market participants to prepare for the discontinuation of LIBOR by the end of 2021 ...
In the recent English case of Lamesa Investments v Cynergy Bank [2020] EWCA Civ 821, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) affirmed the High Court (“HC”)’s ruling that non-US financial institution borrower Cynergy’s (a) refusal to pay Lamesa did not constitute a default where the ultimate beneficial owner of Lamesa remained a blocked person under US sanctions law based on a clause in the facility agreement that Cynergy would not be at fault if a sum was not paid
Four mainland financial and monetary authorities, including the People’s Bank of China, proposed measures from five perspectives to support construction of the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”) in the Opinions on Financial Support for the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the “Opinions”). The measures mentioned in the Opinions are summarised below with a focus on the banking sector ...
In early April, the United States approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) authorizing $349 billion in a small business lending program called the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). For franchising, this relief package seemed like a no-lose program ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the Central Bank of the Philippines) issued on July 7, 2020, Circular No. 1089, which sets out the Payment System Oversight Framework (Oversight Framework). This is in line with the BSP’s mandate under Republic Act No. 11127 (National Payment Systems Act) to ensure a safe, efficient, and reliable national payment system through an effective regulatory and governance framework ...
By virtue of the Rules of the High Court (Amendment) Rules 2020 and Rules of the District Court (Amendment) Rules 2020, the Arrangement for Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Cases between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region (Arrangement) came into force on 1 August 2020. Under the Arrangement the Hong Kong and Macao courts may entrust each other with the service of judicial documents ...
When the 2019-2020 legislative session began, no one could have predicted what challenges Pennsylvania and the General Assembly would encounter with the outbreak of COVID-19. The rules changed to permit remote voting, and the plan for the session shifted to a focus on the response to COVID-19. The 12-month budget was replaced with a five-month budget to allow additional time to assess the financial damage ...
Panama, 24 July 2020. By means of Rule JD-01-2020, published in the Official Gazette No. 29076 of 24 July 2020, the Superintendence of Non-Financial Regulated Persons (SNFR) has established a set of rules and obligations imposed to attorneys and accountants whenever they incur in any of the regulated activities under Law 23 of 2015, which relates to prevention of money laundering, financing of arms of mass destruction and financing of terrorism ...
In a typical consumer bankruptcy, a debtor seeks the benefit of two concepts. First, the debtor seeks the breathing room afforded that debtor by the automatic stay. Second, the debtor seeks to discharge all debt obligations adjudicated in the bankruptcy case. Absent these protections, a bankruptcy filing serves little purpose. As a result, a creditor who can attack the debtor's entitlement to a discharge threatens the very heart of any filing ...
Key Points Adoption of Water Rates not subject to challenge by referendum; challenges are limited to those provided for by Proposition 218. California Supreme Court overrules Court of Appeal decision that found that water rates are not a "tax" under Article II, Section 9. Supreme Court disagrees, finding municipal water rates fall within the broad understanding of the term "tax," and referendum cannot be used to disrupt essential government services ...
On July 31st the Federal Reserve posted amended versions of a number of Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) transaction documents, including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Term Sheets for MSLP. Many of the changes reflect recent announcements, such as the expansion of the program to include the Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility (NONLF) and the Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility (NOELF). Other changes, particularly to the FAQs, provide new guidance ...
This is a briefing on the issuances as of August 3, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Metro Manila will be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) again from August 4 to 18B. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Further Extends until August 10, 2020 the Deadline for Filings and Payments Due for the Period of July 20 to August 7, 2020A ...
This is a briefing of the latest COVID-19 related issuances of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as of 8 July 2020: A.1. Filing of General Information Sheet (“GIS”) and Audited Financial Statements (“AFS”) A.2. Extension of Deadline for Filing of AFS of Corporations within the Jurisdiction of SEC Cebu Extension Office B ...
How Wirecard skirted regulatory scrutiny by jurisdiction-shopping and canny intra-group structuring. It would have been the quintessential business success story. Founded in Munich in 1999, this small payment processor for online gambling and pornography sites grew so massive that, by 2018, it had displaced Commerzbank from Germany’s prestigious Dax 30 index. At its peak, the juggernaut was valued at more than €24 billion (S$38.6 billion) ...
On 24 July 2020, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Exchange) published a consultation paper seeking public feedback on proposals to introduce a paperless listing and subscription regime, online display of documents and a reduction of the types of documents on display ...
It is no secret that business bankruptcies are surging in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, chapter 11 filings increased 26% in the first half of 2020,[1] and some expect the number of cases to increase even more in the coming months.[2] From retailers to airlines to telecommunications companies, few sectors of the economy are immune. As a result, more and more businesses will face the prospect of one or more of their customers filing chapter 11 ...
