This edition of our Q&A series focuses on real estate financing and loan securitization issues in Bangladesh. Given the continuing global uncertainty and economic disruption caused by COVID-19, investors are increasingly concerned about their ability to secure, dispose or otherwise transfer assets that are often now subject to revamped or revised local rules and regulations ...
This edition of our Q&A series focuses on real estate financing and loan securitization issues in the Lao PDR. Given the continuing global uncertainty and economic disruption caused by COVID-19, investors are increasingly concerned about their ability to secure, dispose or otherwise transfer assets that are often now subject to revamped or revised local rules and regulations ...
Key Points In a rare move, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals published two opinions about subjects that are hardly ever discussed in the court's published National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) decisions. For the first time in more than three decades, the court examined impacts to an old-growth redwood forest, and for the first time since 2016, the court examined indirect (downstream) carbon emissions. In Bair v ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the Central Bank of the Philippines) has issued Circular No. 1105, Series of 20201 (Digital Bank Circular) dated December 2, 2020 to provide guidelines on the establishment of digital banks. This circular took effect on December 23, 2020 and was promulgated pursuant to the Monetary Board’s authority under Section 3.2(g) of the General Banking Law of 2000 to create other classes of banks ...
On December 24, 2020, the Brazilian President sanctioned, with some vetoes, an amendment to Law 11,101/2005, which governs judicial reorganizations, pre-packaged reorganizations and bankruptcy liquidations of businessmen and companies. The vetoes can still be overthrown by the Brazilian Congress ...
On December 27, the President signed the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (Act) addressing changes to the rules regarding PPP loans, including making a supplemental PPP loan available to many PPP borrowers and increasing the types of business expenses that can be forgiven ...
While the calling restrictions are sure to get the most publicity from the CFPB’s new debt collection rule, a number of the less discussed aspects of the rule may present just as many operational challenges. For instance, the CFPB’s prohibition on the sale or transfer of certain types of debt, as well as the record retention requirements in the rule will likely present a number of hurdles of their own ...
On Dec. 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), which provides additional COVID-19 relief to individuals and businesses. The long-anticipated COVID-19 relief bill will now head to President Trump for approval or veto. The Act does not extend requirements for employers to provide emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) past the original Dec ...
Congress reached agreement on the third round of coronavirus-related relief measures (totaling approximately $900 Billion) as this issue was being written. The relevant statutory language is part of the massive Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) and was released on December 21, 2020. Passage by the House and Senate was swift, and approval by the President is expected ...
Charities need many things to make a difference, including good people and sufficient funding, but effective leadership underpins everything and the recently refreshed Charity Governance Code is a valuable tool in striving to practise good governance ...
In a small victory for landlords of bankrupt tenants, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has ruled that the Chuck E. Cheese parent company may not use its bankruptcy filing to avoid paying its rent. The COVID-19 pandemic and related stay-at-home orders have prompted numerous retailers and restaurants to seek bankruptcy protection. Many of those companies successfully used the bankruptcy process to obtain relief from their rental obligations ...
On 24 September 2020, Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik ─ “BPS”) issued BPS Regulation No. 2 of 2020 on Indonesian Standard Business Classifications (Klasifikasi Baku Lapangan Usaha Indonesia ─ “KBLI”), which is known as the 2020 KBLI. The 2020 KBLI came into force on its issuance date and revoked BPS Regulation No. 95 of 2015 on the KBLIs, as amended by BPS Regulation No. 19 of 2017, which is known as the 2017 KBLI ...
With the rapid development of technology and the rise of new finance products and players in the fintech industry, banks are pushed to produce new products and innovative services in order to serve their customers and keep abreast of the behaviour of consumers who appreciate the convenience of digital services. In response to this, the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan -- OJK) has issued OJK Regulation No. 12/POJK ...
So called ‘direct agreements’ in the context of debt financing, has the main purpose of establishing a direct contractual relationship between a lender and the borrower’s counterparties for the purpose of enabling the lender to gain control over the borrower’s contracts. Direct agreements are most common for project financings and other facilities where the value of the assets being financed at large depend on the borrower’s contracts. Examples are e.g ...
It is clear that government restrictions and trading difficulties have created an environment in which existing transfer pricing policies will not always be appropriate. The OECD has done well to reach rapid consensus among its members on four key transfer pricing topics, namely: comparability analysis, losses and the allocation of COVID-19-specific costs, government assistance programmes and advance pricing agreements (APAs) ...
With the growing popularity of the Hong Kong open-ended fund company (OFC) structure following revisions to the OFC Code in September 2020, fund managers are increasingly looking at practical considerations when planning ahead on the establishment of new OFCs. One of the key areas is the appointment of the OFC’s board of directors. The key operators of an OFC are the directors, the investment manager and the custodian ...
On December 10, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, introduced and tabled Bill 82 entitled An Act respecting mainly the implementation of certain provisions of the Budget Speech of 10 March 2020 (hereinafter the " Bill" ) before the National Assembly. The Bill opens the door to possible limitations on the duty to defend with respect to certain categories of liability insurance contracts to be determined by regulation ...
The government has launched its long-awaited Energy White Paper, expanding on the government’s 10-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The Energy White Paper commits to the creation and support of up to 220,000 jobs over the next decade, ranging from jobs in major power generation, carbon capture storage and hydrogen projects supported by a new £240 million net zero Hydrogen Fund, to the retrofit of homes and buildings for greater energy efficiency ...
Changes are coming in 2021 to the eligibility requirements for “Qualified Mortgage” or “QM” loans. The Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule administered by CFPB (“ATR/QM Rule”) requires a creditor to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a consumer’s ability to repay a residential mortgage loan according to its terms ...
The new Inheritance Act enters into force on 1 January 2021. The law was passed on 15 May 2019 and replaces the current law from 1972. The most important change is pedagogical, as the law has a better language and a clearer structure. The language has been simplified, and terms such as «landowner» and «legatee» have been replaced by the common term «heir» ...
All eyes were on health care in 2020, as the industry faced unprecedented challenges presented by the global coronavirus pandemic. Stories and images of overburdened frontline health care workers dominated the news cycle for most of the year, and the rapid development of one or more seemingly effective vaccines has engendered a cautious optimism for a return to normalcy in 2021 ...
On 10th December 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular on “New License Categorisations for the Nigerian Payments System”. The introduction of the policies highlighted in the circular may impact significantly on the fintech landscape in Nigeria as the CBN now clearly sets out the activities that can be carried out by fintechs that operate in the electronic payments system space in Nigeria ...
With ‘financial assistance’ in this context, we refer to assistance granted by a company in connection with the purchase of the shares in that company or its parent company. The most common example is that a company grants a guarantee or security in connection with the purchaser’s financing of the purchase price for the acquisition of shares in the company ...
