In a sign that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to ramp up its enforcement efforts, the SEC last week in In re: Healthcare Services Group Inc. charged a health care services company and its chief financial officer and controller as part of the Division of Enforcement's Earnings Per Share, or EPS, Initiative. A Sept ...
On August 31st, 2021, with 64 votes the Congress approved the Law regarding the Creation of the Bitcoin Trust (“FIDEBITCOIN”), by means of which a trust is constituted in the Development Bank of the Republic of El Salvador (“BANDESAL”), to benefit the users of the National Wallet, represented by the Republic of El Salvador, whose purpose will be to support the alternatives for bitcoin convertibility provided by the Salvadoran Government ...
There are indirect, and potential direct, implications for lending transactions from the Pension Schemes Act 2021. Both lenders and borrowers, as well as pensions trustees, have an interest in knowing what's changed and how that might impact their deals. The Act received Royal Assent on 11 February 2021 and updates the Pensions Act 2004. It primarily relates to funding and security of Defined Benefit or ‘Final Salary’ Schemes (‘DB Schemes’) ...
Margin ratchets are a concept that the banking and finance world are familiar with. Increasingly these are linked to ESG loans with both lender and borrower engagement. How do they work in practice, what are the benefits and what are the potential risks? Typically margin ratchets are linked to financial covenants – more often than not leverage – they incentivise borrowers to improve their financial health over the life of a loan ...
Did you know? At the end of last year, US Customers and Border Protection officers seized around US$1.3 million worth in China counterfeit toys at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The seizure included more than 141,000 counterfeit UNO card games, 9,600 "LOL Surprise! Under Wraps” balls and almost 2000 “LOL Surprise!” capsule toys ...
On May 21, 2020, the Commission adopted amendments to the financial statement disclosure requirements for business acquisitions and dispositions by Commission registrants that also apply to companies undertaking an initial public offering. The amendments resulted from the Commission staff’s ongoing evaluation of Regulation S-X and Regulation S-K as part of its Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative and were proposed by the Commission in May 2019 ...
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced details of requirements for fund managers to address climate change in their investment and risk management processes and make appropriate disclosures. Where are the requirements set out? On 20 August 2021, the SFC issued: Consultation Conclusions on the Management and Disclosure of Climate-related Risks by Fund Managers with amendments to the Fund Manager Code of Conduct (FMCC) set out in Appendix B and C ...
On August 27, 2021, the Regulation of the Bitcoin Law (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette of El Salvador. The Regulations will enter into force on September 8, one day after the entry into force of the Bitcoin Law ...
We are still waiting for the “official” SBA FAQ announcing the withdrawal of the Forms 3509/3510 Loan Necessity Questionnaire (“Questionnaire”) that, according to the SBA, will include additional information about its review process. In the meantime, PPP lenders have been told by the SBA that they no longer are required to request that borrowers who obtained loans of $2 million or more complete the Questionnaire ...
Since President Joe Biden’s July 9, 2021, executive order, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” there has been a renewed focus and speculation surrounding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) forthcoming rulemaking under Dodd-Frank Act, Section 1033. Many industry leaders are optimistic President Biden’s order and the CFPB’s previous request for comments are a sign the U.S. is moving closer to open banking ...
On July 21, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (the Division) issued a Risk Alert detailing examinations of investment advisers participating in wrap fee programs. The Division conducted over 100 examinations of advisers associated with wrap fee programs generally from two perspectives: (i) advisers serving as portfolio managers in, or sponsors of, wrap fee programs; and (ii) advising client accounts through unaffiliated/third-party wrap fee programs ...
On July 21, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (the Division) issued a Risk Alert detailing more than 20 examinations of investment advisers who engaged in cross trades, principal trades, or both, involving fixed-income securities as part of the Division’s FIX Initiative. The July 21, 2021, Risk Alert is a follow-up to the Sept ...
‘Navigating the Fintech Revolution in Thailand’ is the indispensable must-read guide for fintech experts who want to stay up-to-date on all current and future fintech developments and successfully navigate the sector’s many challenges and pitfalls! In this edition, DFDL reports on the current state of fintech in Thailand from a legislative and policy perspective with an overview of the current and future fintech landscape ...
Despite the cannabis industry’s explosive growth, many financial institutions have been hesitant to transact with cannabis-related businesses given the ambiguity created by divergent state and federal cannabis laws. The SAFE Banking Act seeks to remove these ambiguities at the federal level and pave the way for more financial institutions to serve the cannabis industry ...
The freeze partnership is an often overlooked estate tax planning tool. Unlike more common estate tax planning vehicles, the freeze partnership is not a trust and, as the name implies, is a closely-held partnership, limited partnership or LLC (in this article, the term partnership will be used to refer to partnerships, limited partnerships and LLCs) ...
The Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group co-chaired by the HKMA and the SFC (Steering Group) announced on 15 July 2021 the next steps to advance its strategy to bolster Hong Kong’s position as a leader in green and sustainable finance and help transition the financial ecosystem towards carbon neutrality ...
On 20 July 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a draft guideline on climate risk management for consultation with the banking industry with comments due by 20 August 2021. The guideline includes expectations on governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure ...
In the recent US case of In Re Citibank August 11, 2020 Wire Transfers (Revlon), the New York federal court held that lenders in a syndicated loan were not obliged to return an erroneous payment made by the syndicated facility agent due to the ‘discharge for value’ principle, which operated as a successful defence to unjust enrichment (click here for the full decision) ...
In an article published earlier this year, we discussed how the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law, L.188(I)/2007 (the “AML Law”) was amended in order to harmonise domestic legislation with the 4th and 5th AML Directives (Directives (EU) 2015/849 and 2018/843 and how it introduced, for the first time, provision for the registration of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (“CASPS”) ...
Private equity investors in nursing homes should brace and prepare for an active near-term enforcement environment. Congressional skepticism of private equity involvement in healthcare, developments in False Claims Act cases and Department of Justice priorities all point towards increasing scrutiny of private equity investment in skilled nursing facilities ...
On August 18 th , 2021, Law No. 21,362 (the “ Law ”) was published in the Official Gazette. The Law introduces several modifications to different other laws in connection with the labeling, advertisement, and sales of gluten free foodstuff products. Firstly, the Law modifies Law No. 20,606, commonly known as Labeling Law ...
On 10 August 2021, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published consultation conclusions on its proposals to (1) implement an investor identification regime at the trading level for the securities market in Hong Kong and (2) introduce an over-the-counter securities transactions reporting regime for shares listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (Conclusions). The original consultation paper is available here and the Conclusions are available here ...
In our previous article (Cryptocurrency – The Future of Money), we provided an overview of the key ideas behind cryptocurrency. In this article, we look at how cryptocurrency and digital currency might impact the corporate banking and finance market ...
Banking & Finance The Central Bank of Malta Issues Directive 19 on the Use of Cheques and Bank Drafts Directive No 19 ‘on the Use of Cheques and Bank Drafts’ was issued by the Central Bank of Malta on 7th July 2021 with the aim of promoting safe and effective use of cheques and bank drafts drawn on Maltese banks and financial institutions ...
