The SBA issued anInterim Final Rule(“IFR”) regarding PPP loan forgiveness on May 22, 2020, to supplement thePPP Loan Forgiveness Applicationand instructions issued one week earlier. While the new IFR did not provide a great deal of new guidance, below is a list of our key observations, which supplements our prior observations on the application itself, which are repeated at the end of this Alert ...
The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (“Sernapesca”) has issued a series of resolutions. Resolutions No 672/2020 , No 725/2020 and No 805/2020 - that incorporate new measures to those indicated in Resolution No. 565 dated March 16, 2020 which authorized the adoption of certain measures in salmon farming centers in the context of COVID-19 ...
On May 25th, 2020, as per publicly available information, an administrative court in Mexico issued definitive suspensions against the resolution published on April 29th, 2020 by the National Center of Energy Control (“CENACE”) to guarantee the efficiency, quality, continuity and safety of the National Electric System, as part of the constitutional appeals filed by companies involved in renewable energy projects from wind and photovoltaic projects ...
The historically low interest rates recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the depressed value of certain assets offer opportunities for estate planning techniques that can reduce the cost of transferring wealth to younger generations. The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is $11,580,000 per person ($23,160,000 for a married couple) ...
On May 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued as new final rule updating various aspects of the requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The rule is effective on October 1, 2020. Banks regulated by the OCC must comply with the final amendments by October 1, 2020, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, as applicable ...
Key Points U.S. EPA is continuing to regulate and prevent sham COVID-19 products and devices from entering the market under FIFRA. EPA's distinction in regulating pesticide substances versus pesticide devices can cause confusion, but can be addressed if companies take proactive steps to ensure their product's compliance with the requisite legal framework, and self-report when in doubt. As noted in our prior alerts, available here and here, U.S ...
Key Points: U.S. EPA is continuing to regulate and prevent sham COVID-19 products and devices from entering the market under FIFRA. EPA's distinction in regulating pesticide substances versus pesticide devices can cause confusion, but can be addressed if companies take proactive steps to ensure their product's compliance with the requisite legal framework, and self-report when in doubt. As noted in our prior alerts, available here and here, U.S ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unique challenges and causing operational and financial disruptions for many governmental issuers and other borrowers (obligated persons), who are subject to the continuing disclosure requirements of Rule 15c2-12 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One of these challenges is the determination of whether and what to disclose to bondholders under existing continuing disclosure undertakings or in the context of voluntary disclosure ...
Key Points City council and planning commission recusals can have a significant impact on the outcome of hearings involving land use and environmental issues. Recusals can lead to tie votes or the loss of a quorum, which may make it impossible for local governments to approve development projects. In some circumstances, an elected or appointed official’s failure to recuse can be grounds for reversing local government decisions ...
On May 22, Treasury issued a new Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) regarding Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Payroll Protection Program (”PPP”) loan forgiveness. Much of the IFR repeats information previously published by Treasury and SBA in the loan forgiveness form application and accompanying instructions. See March 19, 2020 Buchalter Client Alert COVID-19: Treasury Issues Application for SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness ...
The last two years have seen an expansion of regulations related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), both in the United States and abroad. COVID-19 is driving further expansion of FDI in the U.S. and elsewhere. Owners and investors need to know — expansion of regulations gaps closed in national security reviews new inclusion of medical supplies and food non-controlling investments also scrutinized Whether by intent or coincidence, the U.S ...
On May 15, 2020, the Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) published a Policy on Reliability, Safety, Continuity, and Quality for the National Electric System (the “Policy”) in the evening edition of the Federal Registry (“DOF”). The purpose of the Policy is to promote the sustainable development of the power industry and guarantee its continuous, efficient, and safe operation for the benefit of users under the principle of Reliability ...
On May 21, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Offices of Energy Policy and Innovation and Electric Reliability jointly published and released their 2020 Summer Energy Market and Reliability Assessment. The report provides an overview of key market events and data for the nation’s ISOs/RTOs as well as a discussion on reliability in the various power regions for summer 2020. The report includes the following key items that are summarized below ...
On May 13, 2020, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations under Section 385 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), T.D. 9897 (“Final Regulations”), which address the classification of certain related party debt as stock or equity for U.S. Federal income tax purposes ...
The SBA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Treasury, issued the Paycheck Protection Program Loan ForgivenessApplicationand related instructions on May 15, 2020. While the application and instructions answer many of our questions about PPP loan forgiveness, it leaves many others open. Treasury has promised that the SBA also will soon issue regulations and guidance that we hope will address these questions ...
Rule 2-2020, as amended by Rule 3-2020 of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (hereinafter, “SBP,” for its initials in Spanish). On March 16, 2020, the SBP issued Rule 2-2020, which was subsequently amended by Rule 3-2020 (here in after referred to as “Rule 2-2020") and "establishes additional, exceptional and temporary measures for compliance with the provisions contained in Rule 4-2013 on credit risk".” ...
Section 29 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) allows a trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the Courts for orders compelling disclosure of material documents and/or information of the bankrupt in order for the trustee to carry out his/her duties under the bankruptcy. For the authors’ previous article on Section 29, please see here ...
Section 29 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) allows a trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the Courts for orders compelling disclosure of material documents and/or information of the bankrupt in order for the trustee to carry out his/her duties under the bankruptcy. For the authors’ previous article on Section 29, please see here ...
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the State Banking Regulators released a joint statement announcing increased flexibility in the agencies’ regulation and enforcement of certain mortgage servicing rules governing borrower communications in response to the
The landmark CARES Act, signed into law by the President on March 27, provides many employers with several options to increase liquidity and cash flow during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. And only 9 days before that legislation was enacted, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) also created two other payroll tax-related incentives for certain employers, and to self-employed individuals ...
Guatemala dawns today with the validity of a law, contained in the Decree 15-2020, extremely harmful for the country, the economy, the industry and legal certainty, and in violation of the Constitution. This law allows for the possibility of not paying certain basic services (water, cable, telephony, power [sic] (electric power) and internet) by the users, and imposes the obligation to public and private supplier companies not to suspend, under any circumstances, their provision ...
On May 2020 the National Center of Energy Control (“CENACE”) instructed some of its operational offices throughout México the suspension of the measures included in its resolution dated April 29th, 2020 issued to guarantee the efficiency, reliability, quality, continuity and safety of the Electrical National System due to the pandemic disease COVID-19 (the “Resolution”) ...
While immediate pandemic pressures may moderate short-term corporate progress on climate risk assessment and disclosure, there is little to suggest that regulatory and investor expectations have significantly diminished in 2020. Corporates may face increasing investor pressure to make a 'Paris-aligned' business strategy a central pillar of their corporate rebuilding and recovery plans, with a measurable pathway to net zero emissions ...
As we continue our series on bankruptcy litigation, we want to discuss the use of receiverships as an important aspect of a fully developed creditors' rights practice. Creditors often face recalcitrant corporate debtors who continue to reap the rewards of their business while ignoring all attempts by creditors to collect amounts owed to them. Sometimes, those debtors' intricate corporate structure makes it harder for creditors to trace money and assets and easier for debtors to hide them ...
Setting natural gas prices, directly or indirectly, is already a tradition in Romania and 2020 is not an exception to the rule ...
