Traditionally the Spanish business sector has financed its growth primarily through bank loans. However, the current restrictions on credit (derived not only from the crisis but of growing capital constraints of banks themselves) have to seek funding alternative or complementary to the bank ...
On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a controversial decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal which granted pension beneficiaries priority over dip lenders in the context of a restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA")1. The Court of Appeal's decision led many to worry that lenders would be reticent to advance funds to restructuring debtors for fear of not being able to secure charges which would outrank all other claims ...
On April 17, 2013, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an Updated Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP), which replaces the original SDP published in 1998. The SDP is used by providers and suppliers to voluntarily disclose violations of the fraud and abuse laws. According to the OIG, it has received more than 800 disclosures since the SDP’s inception, resulting in more than $280 million in recoveries ...
The decision of the Indian Supreme Court to deny Novartis’s application for patent protection for an improved version of its patented Glivec drug – the culmination of a seven-year battle - has certainly made the headlines. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Glivec is a well-known drug – described by some as a ‘wonder drug’ – that’s used to combat cancer, including leukaemia and gastro-intestinal cancer ...
Recently, the Superior Court rendered a decision 1 which clarifies the extent of the discretion a court has when asked to ratify a hypothecary creditor's recommendation to appoint an employee of its legal counsel to act as the officer of the court entrusted with the sale by judiciary authority of the collateral secured in its favour. CONTEXT The Superior Court had to render judgment in five cases involving very similar facts ...
Gift Tax Return Requirement for 2012 TransactionsDuring 2012, uncertainty about future estate and gift tax exemptions and rates led many of our clients to make substantial gifts during 2012 to their descendants or to trusts for descendants ...
On March 26, 2013, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”), the Canadian bank regulator, issued an Advisory in which it identified the banks considered to be systematically important for Canada in accordance with the framework set out by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. These banks are the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the National Bank of Canada, the Royal Bank of Canada and the Toronto-Dominion Bank ...
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), pursuant to its rulemaking authority under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”)1, has interpreted guarantees of swap agreements to fall under the definition of a swap,2 which means that any swap guarantor must be an “eligible contract participant” (“ECP”) at the time a swap is entered into (which may occur after the date on which the guarantee and related credit facility documents are entered
Canadian ratification of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and of the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment: This Bulletin is intended as a brief overview of the above-mentioned Convention and its Protocol and is not an in depth analysis of each of their provisions ...
According to December 2012 data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Gulf War Era veterans, hovering around eight percent, remains higher than the national rate. Over the last decade, more than 2.3 million Americans were deployed to military duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or both. Of that total, more than 1 million have since left the military ...
Many banks formed holding companies in the late 1980s and 1990s. They had various reasons for doing this. Some formed a holding company to hold subsidiaries providing nonbank activities. Some used the holding company to reduce state taxes in states where banks are taxed differently. Some were acquisitive, and holding companies gave them more options in acquiring banks. Some thought the holding company would help improve the marketability of the stock ...
For the first time ever, North Carolina’s Business Court and Court of Appeals both upheld fiduciary duty claims against banks in late 2012. Debtors frequently employ such claims in an attempt to shift liability for failed projects to their lenders or to pressure lenders to settle problem loans in the wake of the financial downturn. Despite their ubiquity, breach of fiduciary duty claims had proven elusive for borrowers before October 2012 ...
It appears that the industry is starting to “enjoy” a modest increase in activity as to participations, assignments and syndications. This “enjoyment” is not without more than a fair share of trepidation and reluctance, but the allure of increased revenue is difficult to withstand. Regardless of this trepidation, participations, assignments, syndications and intercreditor agreements can be done safely and profitably ...
Contents Part XII.2 Tax Applicable to Trusts: a Potentially Expensive Tax Which Is Often Overlooked Application of the Anti-avoidance Rule in Subsection 83(2.1): Caution Is Required in the Context of the Acquisition of a Private Corporation Revenu Québec to Scrutinize Trusts Directors’ Liability for the Debts of a Corporation Payable to Employees for Services Rendered During the Directors’ Term of Office PART XII ...
A federal court jury in Illinois found that nursing home operator Momence Meadows fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid for “worthless services” and falsely certified compliance with health care laws and regulations, resulting in $28 million in damages to the government. United States ex rel. Absher v. Momence Meadows Nursing Ctr., Inc., No. 2:04-cv-02289 (C.D. Ill. Feb. 8, 2013) ...
On February 13, 2013, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (the “Agency”) issued a new guidance (the “Guidance”) to clarify the interpretation that must be given to the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the “Code”) with regard to three issues within the Canadian payment card industry (credit or debit cards) that, according to the Agency, are not in line with some of the key principles set out in the Code ...
It took thirteen years, four months, and five days of heated debates and passionate protests before the country’s first reproductive health law was passed. Four days shy of Christmas last year, President Aquino finally signed the 24-page bill into law. It is now Republic Act No. 10354 or The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RH Law). The passing of the RH Law, however, does by no means close this chapter of Philippine history ...
Pursuant to new rules and interpretations issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Securities Exchange Commission under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act1(together with related rules, regulations and interpretations, the “Dodd-Frank Act”), a “swap” has been interpreted to include any guarantee of a swap ...
The quality of corporate governance practices increasingly represents a key factor to maintaining the trust of depositors, policyholders and most stakeholders who are active on capital markets. Considering the unique features of financial institutions and the risks arising from their responsibilities, some aspects of corporate governance are particularly important for these institutions, including banks, insurers, trust companies, loan companies and cooperative credit associations ...
Savings and Credit Entities (SCEs) are regulated financial institutions of private capital authorised to develop lending activities. The operation of SCEs is governed by the Law of Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Entities, which came into force on July 1 2001, amended in January 1 2009 to its current regime ...
The rules for the application for the tax amnesty program that were published on February 19, 2013 in the Federal Official Gazette provide that taxpayers wishing to benefit from the program must file an application online with the Tax Administration Service (“SAT” for its Spanish acronym) not later than May 31, 2013, through the SAT web page, although the Federal Revenue Law does not provide for an specific date for its application ...
On January 23, 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC)1 issued a notice for comment on its proposed guidance, Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance2 (the “Guidance”) ...
Sixteen years since the enactment of Law No. 7 of 1996 regarding Food (“the 1996 Food Law”), the Government issued the new Food Law (ie Law No. 18 of 2012) (“Food Law”) on 18 October 2012, two days after World Food Day. The Food Law replaces The 1996 Food Law. The Food Law covers three significant areas which were not governed by the 1996 Food Law, ie imports of food; the halal requirement; and the establishment of a new non-ministerial agency in-charge of food matters ...
The CorporateGovernance Code of the Portuguese Corporate Governance Institute (Instituto Português de Corporate Governance – “IPCG”) waspublished on 30 January 2013. For the first time, commercial companies haveaccess to a corporate governance best practice code prepared by civil societywhich is an alternative to the existing corporate governance code of the SecuritiesMarket Commission (CMVM) ...
During the years of the recent property and development boom in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), stamp duty on the real estate transactions became a substantial contributor to Government coffers. All real estate transactions in TCI are subject to stamp duty at varying rates depending on the size of the transaction and on the island on which the real estate is situate. In most cases, stamp duty is charged at the rate of 9.75% of the consideration passing ...
