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
Here are select January 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on legal and judicial ethics:Attorney; forum shopping as contempt of court. A disbarment complaint against Atty. Gonzales was filed for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility for the forum shopping he allegedly committed. The court held that the respondent was guilty of forum shopping. Lawyers should be reminded that their primary duty is to assist the courts in the administration of justice ...
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 ...
Just over one year ago, new ATM regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became enforceable. Since virtually the stroke of midnight on March 15, 2012, banks, credit unions and other ATM operators have been served with lawsuits alleging noncompliance with certain of those new ADA regulations, particularly those requiring auxiliary aids and services for ATM users who are blind or have low vision ...
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 ...
With the ink now dry on The Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (passed in early 2013) which, among other things, raised the capital gains tax rate from 15% to 20% and the top income tax bracket of “high income” Americans from 35% to 39.6%, Senate Democrats have now proposed the “American Family Economic Protection Act” which defers the sequestration for the remainder of 2013 by (i) raising the income tax on millionaires ($55 billion over 10 years), (ii) increasing future military cuts ($27 ...
Business owners grudgingly accept lawsuits as a part of doing business. If you’re doing what it takes to advance your business, you will suffer the bumps and bruises that will result in your name on a legal pleading. You may even be the one who files the lawsuit.Almost any money you can recover in a lawsuit is eaten up by lost employee time, and, perhaps more importantly, the business owner’s loss of focus on healthy profits. If you are the one sued, you can never win ...
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 ...
Much has been written about the consequences of failing to establish a reasonable plan to preserve documents once there is a duty to preserve. However, surprisingly little has been written about when a party can resume its normal document retention and destruction policy. The good news is that eventually the litigation hold can be lifted; the bad news is that you may not be able to life the hold as soon as you would hope or like ...
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”) ...
Here are select December 2012 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on criminal law and procedure: 1. REVISED PENAL CODE Rape; Pruna Guidelines ...
Here are select December 2012 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on commercial law:Corporations; liability of corporate officers. Settled is the rule that debts incurred by directors, officers, and employees acting as corporate agents are not their direct liability but of the corporation they represent, except if they contractually agree/stipulate or assume to be personally liable for the corporation’s debts, as in this case. Ildefonso S. Crisologo vs ...
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 ...
Acquiring investment property This alert is intended to highlight certain VAT issues relating to the purchase and management of property which is subject to a lease(s). In general VAT should not be chargeable on the sale of such property. Depending on the circumstances this VAT free treatment is based on exemption from VAT and/or “transfer of business” relief applying. VAT free treatment does not apply in all situations but exceptions are few ...
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2013 dated 7 January 2013, requiring the incorporation of the tax identification number (TIN) of foreign investors in all forms papers and documents filed with the SEC ...
