The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has recently published its most recent Financial Services Survey, the results of which demonstrate the effect that Brexit is having on immigration of employees and expertise in to the UK in the financial services sector. There are an estimated 1.1 million UK jobs in the financial services sector. Historically, the sector obtained one fifth of its workers from outside of the UK ...
July was a busy month for the FCA in publishing guidance, policy and rules which have a significant impact on a firm’s relationships with its senior managers and staff. On 30 June, and towards the beginning of the “crypto winter”, Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA gave a speech to the City UK Annual Conference entitled “Finding Opportunity in a World of Uncertainty” ...
ESG The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) ran its Sustainable Finance Week in September and announced three initiatives that came into force from 20 September. The Natural Capital Fund Regime was launched and allows a regulatory designation for biodiversity and natural capital projects that positively contribute and/or reduce harm to the natural world. The regime has arguably more stringent criteria than those for the Guernsey Green Fund Regime ...
The Pre-Insolvency Bill (‘the Bill’) is at its second reading in Parliament. The Bill is being proposed as an Act to partially transpose EU Directive 2019/1023 (‘the Directive’) on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt ...
Asters' Counsel and pro bono legal advisor of the Committee on Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development of the European Business Association (EBA) Anzhelika Livitska contributed to EBA White Paper "Deregulation of environmental legislation in a time of war and reforms aimed for European integration" ...
Whilst generational wealth from around the world has commonly been held, in some form, via Cayman trusts, the client base of the local trust industry has in recent years expanded greatly to include a wider range of global family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and entrepreneurs keen to take advantage of the modern and flexible options on offer ...
Shoosmiths’ specialist construction and regulatory teams have provided a detailed response to the government’s consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings under Part 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The firm’s response draws on its expertise working with key stakeholders in the construction industry and first-hand experience of the issues that are relevant to the proposed regulations ...
On 7 October 2022, Federal Law No. 377-FZ (the “Law”) came into force. The Law granted mobilized citizens and their family members the right to receive preferential payment holidays on loans (including mortgages). Follow the link to learn more. Newsletter_Payment_holidays_for_mobilized_citizens.pdf (alrud ...
Classification as a security is an omnipresent concern for issuers of digital assets. When offering or selling securities in the United States, securities must either be registered or exempt from registration ...
Does your contract contain a dispute resolution section that refers to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) rules, mediation and/or arbitration proceedings? If so, then you need to be aware of some changes that took effect last month. The AAA revised its Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures (“AAA Rules”) to update some existing rules and to add new rules ...
The concept of “natural capital” seeks to recognise the role of nature as an asset which is key to the sustained functioning of human social and economic activity. Examples of natural capital include clean air, water supply, plant life, animals, soil and minerals ...
Last Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the CFPB's automatic funding structure violates the Constitution. Because the decision calls into question virtually all of the CFPB’s actions since its creation, it has wide-ranging potential implications for all financial services industries. Please join us for a lunch-time webinar as we unpack the Fifth Circuit’s decision and what it means for your business ...
The Government of Malta reaffirmed its commitment to establishing Malta as a go-to jurisdiction for start-ups in its Budget for 2023. During the budget speech that was delivered on 24th October 2022, the Minister for Finance and Employment, Hon. Clyde Caruana announced that a one-stop shop for start-ups is set to be launched within the “Start in Malta” programme currently run by the Malta Enterprise ...
Three bills are being read in Parliament proposing new insolvency-related legislation and amendments: The Pre-Insolvency Bill; The Insolvency Practitioners Bill; and The Commercial Code (Amendment) Bill ...
On 6 October 2022, as part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework (“IF”) on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) to implement the Two-Pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, the OECD released its progress report for comment. Background The report was prepared for the purposes of obtaining further input from stakeholders on the administration and tax certainty aspects of Amount A ...
All employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working which is done by undertaking simple right to work checks before an employee commences employment. 1. Why do employers need to know what IDSPs are? All employers in the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working which is done by undertaking simple right to work checks before an employee commences employment ...
Republic Act No. 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, is a landmark environmental legislation designed to meet the country’s waste management problems. It requires local government units to achieve 25% waste reduction through re-using, recycling, and composting activities and other resource recovery activities. However, two decades after its enactment, solid waste management remains to be a major challenge ...
Please be informed that new Federal Law No. 332-FZ (“Law”) was passed on 14 July 2022 allowing the landlords to claim from the tenant the average monthly rent or to terminate the lease if the tenant's commercial activities are suspended. The Law establishes specific conditions under which the average rent could be claimed, imposes restrictions on landlord's right to terminate the lease agreement if foreign control over the lessee is terminated ...
RENT UPDATE COEFFICIENT FOR 2023 Law no. 19/2022 was published in Diário da República (Official Journal) on 21 October 2022 and, among other measures, it establishes the rent update coefficient for the calendar year of 2023. During the next year, the annual update coefficient for rents of the several types of leases, both urban and rural, established in article 24 of Law no. 6/2006 of 27 February, which approved the New Urban Lease Regime (NRAU), will not apply ...
Loan facilities and bond loans usually include financial covenants, which are financial metrics the borrower/issuer need to comply with during the term of the financing agreement. The Norwegian market is dominated by maintenance covenants, which means the covenants must be complied with at all times. Over the course of a few months, geopolitical unrest, high inflation and prolonged supply chain issues have led central banks to increase interest rates and lenders to increase their risk margins ...
The Supreme Court's judgment is a landmark decision of significant importance in the arena of company law and directors' duties ...
The Philippine Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has issued an opinion to the effect that the exploration, development and utilization (“EDU”) of solar, wind, hydro and ocean or tidal energy sources is not subject to the forty percent (40%) foreign equity limitation under Article XII, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution ...