2017 ExpertBriefing
Taming the beast – the need for regulation in peer-to-peer lending
December 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Quivira Capital
Under existing Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidelines, peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders operate within a virtually unregulated space. While this is not damaging in itself, it does create a number of risks, as the FCA has acknowledged. The most significant...
A critical analysis of credit information sharing under Nigeria’s Credit Reporting Act 2017
December 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Fidelis Oditah & Co.
Credit is the lifeblood of business and difficulty accessing credit has been the bane of many businesses in Nigeria. One of the primary reasons for the unwillingness of financial institutions to extend credit to businesses is a lack of reliable...
Automation: the driving force in business intelligence
December 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Intelenet Global Services
The financial sector is facing a new wave of innovation – emerging technologies have unlocked myriad opportunities and an increasing number of products and services are impacting all aspects of the business world. The financial institutions of...
Asset managers, Brexit planning and supervisory convergence
December 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Dechert LLP
Ecosystems are important to the provision of financial services and the UK’s asset management ecosystem is one of the strongest within the sector. The UK has created an environment where innovation thrives within the asset management...
Should international arbitration be the dispute resolution method of choice for international companies?
December 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Brick Court Chambers
The exponential growth in international commercial arbitration has been fuelled by the realisation that many global commercial disputes are better resolved in neutral countries by neutral arbitrators, rather than in national courts by national judges...
Landmark third-party funding decision for international arbitration
December 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Walker Morris LLP
Third-party funding is where an entity or group with no prior connection to the dispute agrees to finance all or part of the legal costs of the litigation or arbitration, in return for a fee payable from the proceeds recovered by the funded party...
Employment law in Ireland
December 2017 | LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
William Fry
Brexit planning is underway for many organisations. There are various factors to assess in determining whether and where to relocate, including the question of how employment is regulated in each potential new location. This guide is intended...
Strategic anticipation: using French rules to anticipate restructurings and adapt to the market
December 2017 | LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
Fromont Briens
President Macron’s executive orders, published in late September, allow employers to negotiate new types of collective agreements. The so-called “competitiveness agreements” will replace the former “preservation”, or “development”...
UK government’s two year Brexit transitional period: poisoned chalice or a step in the right direction?
December 2017 | ECONOMIC TRENDS
Bryan Cave
On 4 October 2017, the Conservative Party’s annual conference drew to a close. The conference, and Theresa May’s speech in Florence before it, had been closely watched for indications of where the UK’s Brexit negotiating strategy was heading...
Optimisation of working time: how to use legal tools to improve working time management
November 2017| LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
Fromont Briens
French regulations on working time, and namely the 35-hour rule, can be too rigid a framework for companies needing flexibility and adaptability. A common rule is that working time is counted within one week. As soon as the employee works more...
How to comply with the Russian requirements on localisation of personal data
November 2017| DATA PRIVACY
Orient Partners
Recently, important changes to the Russian legislation on personal data have entered into force, requiring a response from foreign companies doing business in Russia. The new version of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation...
Cyber security and data privacy in Argentina
November 2017| DATA PRIVACY
Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal
This article will analyse and summarise Argentine regulations regarding cyber security and data privacy and explore internet issues in the context of employment relationships. The most comprehensive statutory regulation regarding...
Integrity systems in engineering and construction companies: a reflection after the September earthquakes in Mexico
November 2017| FRAUD & CORRUPTION
COMAD
In the last decade, public and private corruption and its impact began to be discussed in Mexico in an open manner on a daily basis. This was as a result of multiple factors, including the growing influence of foreign regulations that were slowly...
Telecom Italia takeover: will the government’s ‘golden power’ still be enforceable?
November 2017| MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Cugia Cuomo & Associati
At the moment of privatisation in 2000, upon losing its majority control by virtue of the dismissal of the equity participation held in Telecom Italia, the Italian government modified the company’s articles of association in order to ensure the recognition...
Value creation strategy of private equity funds – opportunists or corporate marauders?
October 2017| PRIVATE EQUITY
Jackson, Etti and Edu
In the last decade, the growth of private equity funds (PEF) in Africa has been phenomenal. According to a 2015 study by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA), South Africa and Nigeria remain at the forefront.... Notably, Nigeria accounted for 67 percent of deal value – over $4bn – in this period.
Senior Manager Regime – a burden or a benefit worth the risk of the personal undertaking?
October 2017| BANKING & FINANCE
D2 Legal Technology
Amid all of the regulatory upheaval arising from Brexit, margin reform, MiFID2, Solvency II and a swathe of other regulations and directives, financial institutions and in particular individuals, defined as ‘senior managers’, who fall under the senior...
Bridging Asia’s trade finance gap
October 2017| BANKING & FINANCE
Falcon Group
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicts that Asia will contribute 60 percent of the world’s growth this year – making Asia the region most in need of increased liquidity with respect to trade finance. Yet, recent ADB figures estimate up to $692bn...
FinTech businesses and securities law: is your initial coin offering regulated?
October 2017| RISK MANAGEMENT
Bennett Jones LLP
Navigating securities law in the age of financial technology (FinTech) businesses is tricky. Excitement around the FinTech sector is rightfully accompanied by concerns that the industry is less regulated than any traditional financial services or banking industry...
Increasing profitability – improving supplier relationships, eliminating inefficiencies and maximising savings
October 2017| BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE
Dolphin
Organisations are looking for every opportunity they can to reduce costs, improve cash flow and increase overall profitability. As the business landscape continues to evolve, this can be a difficult undertaking. Improving supplier interaction is one...
Boards and stewardship: the evolution from mechanical governance to value-based governance as a challenge to GAFAs
October 2017| CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
IMD
Are failed boards structured significantly differently? Board structures are more or less the same in any regulatory environment – the mechanism of governance that relates to gender diversity, board size, independence, board meetings, CEO duality...
Big harm in little hands and the rise of the trusted organisation
October 2017| RISK MANAGEMENT
MinterEllison
Our concerns over data privacy and legislation providing for interception and access are somewhat assuaged by our belief that we can control the availability of our personal data and that technological limitations restrict those who could....
Developing a GDPR compliance strategy: the links in the data supply chain
October 2017| DATA PRIVACY
Mills & Reeve LLP
Board members and other leaders now have a little more than six months left to prepare their businesses for compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). For most businesses, the starting point for their compliance...
The art of making the American economy great again
September 2017 | EXPERT BRIEFING
Sun Global Investments
One of president Trump’s most memorable election slogans was his pledge to ‘Make America Great Again’. This had the twin benefit of being both memorable and vague. The US economy was growing reasonably well when Trump came to power...
Core concepts for a compassionate culture
September 2017 | EXPERT BRIEFING
International Center for Compassionate Organizations
The shared reality of the workplace requires individuals to perform and act autonomously yet cooperatively. In the compassionate workplace, the individual shifts from merely learning skills and gaining knowledge to a context where skills...
Why bargain-priced e-discovery is a false economy
September 2017 | EXPERT BRIEFING
Epiq
Every organisation is looking for ways to be more efficient and to save costs, so it is no surprise that many are interested in finding an electronic discovery partner which is offering a low price for electronic discovery services. What those offering...
Recent WannaCry ransomware attack likely first of more to come
September 2017 | EXPERT BRIEFING
CLT3 Consulting, LLC
In what is being called the ‘worst ever’ ransomware attack, experts believe tools used to undertake a global malware campaign were part of a trove lifted from the National Security Agency (NSA) by as-yet-unknown parties. Apparently exploiting a...
Acquisitions through share deals versus asset deals in Brazil: general considerations
August 2017 | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Veirano Advogados
In Brazil or elsewhere, investors may opt for an array of corporate structures in planning an acquisition, including capital contributions, assets contributions, mergers, reverse mergers and spin-offs, among others. Most of these corporate structures...
Croatia: systemic risk and state intervention
August 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Vidan Law Office
At no time in its 26-year history has Croatia seen a piece of legislation that has caused as much turmoil as that of the recently enacted Special Administration Procedure Act (Act), popularly known as ‘the Lex Agrokor’. Prior to the adoption of...
Why upgrading the legacy ‘customer risk model’ is an AML imperative for banks
August 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
While all banks have in place a customer risk assessment framework to comply with their anti-money laundering (AML) programme, many of these are not robust and do not capture the complexities of the current day customer risk...
Governance, risk and compliance: the need for integration on financial markets
August 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Finance & Governance
In January 2008, Wachovia Bank, a North-Carolina based bank founded in 1879, enjoyed an Aa1 rating from Moody’s for its deposits, with over $810bn dollars worth of assets. Then Wachovia suffered a $23bn third-quarter loss in 2008...
The impact and far-reaching consequences of MiFID II
August 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Brickendon
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) is one of the most discussed and debated regulations in the financial services sector. The consequences of MiFID II’s implementation are widespread and profound – spanning the macro...
Cyber intrusion or IT single point of failure?
August 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Whether directed at governments or businesses, there are headlines about cyber intrusions virtually every day. Rather than publicly admit the cyber intrusion, victimised companies often claim that the Information Technology (IT) data centre actually...
The Internet of Things presents challenges for consumers and industry
August 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
CLT3 Consulting, LLC
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the term for the many smart devices that are increasingly populating our homes and businesses. Refrigerators, televisions, smartphones, thermostats and virtual assistants using artificial intelligence like...
GDPR: time to explain your AI
August 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
FICO
One of the more promising applications of artificial intelligence (AI) is in regulatory compliance, an area that continues to get more complicated for financial institutions, many of which are struggling to implement IFRS 9, GDPR, PSD2 and other...
Patent laches is dead, long live equitable estoppel
August 2017 | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Holland & Knight
Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court reversed years of Federal Circuit precedent holding that, outside of the damages window, there was no laches in patent litigation. Laches precludes a claim where the alleged infringer was materially...
Pharmaceutical and medical device litigation increasing at the US International Trade Commission
August 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo PC
In recent years, due to the increasing difficulty of obtaining injunctions in district court and the rise of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings which often stay district court litigation, the US International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent government...
AI and e-disclosure: beyond predictive coding
August 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Epiq
In e-disclosure, discussions about ‘artificial intelligence’ generally focus on predictive coding – the machine learning process by which case experts teach software to locate relevant information, thereby reducing the time human reviewers...
FinTech and payment methods in Brazil – challenges and opportunities
July 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Veirano Advogados
Victor Hugo once wrote that one cannot resist an idea whose time has come. That certainly seems to be case with the revolution promised by FinTech and alternative payment methods when we look at the current developments in Brazil. The...
Changes to the registration rules for foreign direct investment in Brazil
July 2017| FOREIGN INVESTMENT
GVM | Guimarães & Vieira de Mello Advogados
In times of crisis, there are a number of ways to stimulate growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) stands out among them. In order to cope with the situation, the Brazil Central Bank (BCB) established new rules that changed...
ZAR X, 4AX and A2X: is there room for three new stock exchanges in South Africa?
July 2017 | CAPITAL MARKETS
Fasken Martineau
Three new stock exchanges are vying to operate in South Africa’s financial markets, challenging the dominance of the 130-year old Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This raises the question of whether South Africa can accommodate three...
DCF and the future of corporate valuation
July 2017 | FINANCE & ACCOUNTING
Peter J Solomon Company
Business enterprise valuations are the foundation of investment analysis and banking, commercial lending, as well as financial accounting and bankruptcy reorganisation. At the core of contemporary valuation is the discounted cash flow (DCF) method...
That imaginary thing called strategic corporate social responsibility
July 2017 | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Olaniwun Ajayi LP
The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means different things to different people. In fact, the jury is still out on an apt definition for CSR. However, CSR practitioners would all agree that CSR denotes that a company is acting in a responsible...
Upward trend in patent litigation relating to automobiles
July 2017 | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo
Cars may soon be the new smartphones, at least with respect to patent litigation and the market for patents. Patent litigation in the automotive industry is nothing new – in fact Henry Ford himself was sued for patent infringement in 1903...
Data analysis and anonymisation techniques under the EU General Data Protection Regulation
July 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Osborne Clarke
Big Data techniques have been widely put into practice by financial institutions, payment institutions and other players in the financial sector. These techniques have proven very useful when analysing credit risks, granting loans, KYC processes...
End-to-end evidence
July 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Epiq Systems
Technology is playing a key role in helping financial services companies both protect themselves from, and respond to, regulatory investigation and litigation. However, despite advances, gaps in the process still arise, leaving companies open...
Latest amendments to major and related party transactions and arbitration reform
July 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
ALRUD
1 January 2017 was the enforcement day for new rules regarding the approval of major transactions and related party transactions concluded by joint stock companies and limited liability companies reducing the amount of transactions, which are...
The energy sector and the relationship between the US and Mexico
July 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
González Calvillo, S.C.
The first 100 days of president Trump’s administration showed the world how to separate rhetoric from reality. Had we taken his campaign messages too seriously, the world would be facing the beginning of the end of free foreign trade...
Moving the goalposts for Alberta’s oil & gas industry
July 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP
It should not come as a surprise to anyone that Alberta’s oil & gas industry does not function well during times of uncertainty. Industry and investors like stability. While we are starting to see signs of recovery, the recovery is slow and uneven. In previous...
Brexit – one year on
June 2017 | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
In some ways, it feels like the 12 months since the EU referendum has gone quickly. We have had the excitement of the US elections, the outcome of which enabled us to point fingers back at the Americans. There were the legal challenges to...
Wrongful trading developments – what is half of nothing?
June 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Reed Smith
Case law on wrongful trading has developed significantly over the past two years, with cases such as Brooks and another v Armstrong and another [2016] increasing judicial consideration of the conduct of directors in the period preceding an...
Construction contracts: dealing with a contractor’s insolvency – a Nigerian law perspective
June 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Fidelis Oditah & Co.
Nigeria’s construction sector is a vital economic growth driver. The construction sector provides physical infrastructure in relation to power, roads, rail, bridges and real estate – industries which drive industrialisation and economic growth...
Senior Managers and Certification Regime: compliance for smaller firms
June 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
CCG Legal
The Senior Managers Regime (SMR) and Certification Regime (CR) were introduced in March 2016 at relevant firms – namely banks, building societies, credit unions and PRA-designated investment firms. The SMR and CR are a key part of the...
Bitcoin basics
June 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
McHard Accounting Consulting LLC
There are many different digital currencies, also known as crypto-currencies, with names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Darkcoin, Litecoin, Primecoin and Dogecoin. This article discusses only bitcoin, which is the most mainstream and widely recognised...
FinTech: a global review of current issues
June 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Bennett Jones LLP
Financial technology (FinTech) is changing how money changes hands, and FinTech is evolving faster than the law. The rapid and recent advent of FinTech has left regulators around the world playing catch up, with the current rules being ineffectively...
Regulatory compliance breaks through the ‘cloud ceiling’
June 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
FICO
The banking industry is one of the most regulated in the world. There are many good reasons for this, particularly relating to the protection of customer data (to say nothing of customer funds). But there is also a risk that heavy regulation stifles...
Document, document and document again
June 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Augentius Group
In recent months, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have all issued consultations and guidance on outsourcing. Although the regulators advised on...
Going the rounds – from seed to exit
June 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
JAG Shaw Baker
To get to the finish line, startups need funding to help them evolve through their lifecycles. This means more than just one round, with each kicking up different dynamics to the one before. According to a funding report from Tech.eu...
The D&O insurance policy and its growth in Brazil
June 2017 | BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE
Veirano Advogados
Directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance is a product created to cover corporate and other organisational directors and officers against liability for non-intentional management acts committed in their insured capacity...
The leadership quagmire: what did we get ourselves into?
June 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Frank C. Bucaro & Associates
What is the quagmire in leadership? The quagmire is caused by the lack of moral awareness and failed leadership. These two issues are at the heart of unethical and illegal behaviour in companies today. Moral issues arise from one of two sources...
Managing risk in emerging markets
June 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
Falcon Group
While the UK leaving the EU presents opportunities for exploring new trading opportunities, they are likely to be in higher-risk markets where bank appetite is declining. Can the rise of the alternative financing industry provide UK businesses with the networks...
Why investing in information security should be top of the agenda
June 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
REaD Group
The digital age has transformed the way we store and process information, with developments in technology enabling us to become more efficient than has been previously possible. As businesses deal with ever increasing volumes of information...
Bill proposes corporate criminal liability in certain cases of corruption in Argentina
June 2017 | FRAUD & CORRUPTION
Marval, O’Farrell and Mairal
A bill on corporate criminal liability for cases of corruption is under discussion in Congress. If approved, it would materially change the anti-corruption landscape for legal entities operating in Argentina by imposing modern regulations...
Countdown to GDPR – are you ready?
June 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Epiq Systems
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into full effect on 25 May 2018, introducing a single set of rules relating to the collection, storage and processing of personal data across the European Union (EU). Applying equally...
The portfolio challenge – to focus or diversify?
June 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Catenion
The question of portfolio focus is one that any executive team in the pharmaceutical industry faces on a regular basis. Is the focus appropriate to ensure critical mass of skills and capabilities? Or are the risks too correlated and would spreading bets...
When worlds collide: Alberta’s oil & gas industry navigates the insolvency space
June 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP
It has been almost three years since oil prices plummeted from a high of US$112 per barrel in June 2014, and Alberta has seen its share of oil & gas sector insolvencies in the rocky months that have followed. The economic circumstances have forced...
The dilemma faced by merging companies vis-à-vis gun jumping risks in Brazil
May 2017 | MERGERS & ACQUISITONS
Pinheiro Neto Advogados
The 2011 Brazilian Competition Act came into force five years ago, and during the initial period of implementation of the pre-merger control system in Brazil, some important lessons were learned in relation to the measures and conduct that...
Promoting UK FinTech
May 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
When president Trump signed an executive order cracking down on immigration in the US, one of the largest protests was registered by technology groups in California. The Bay Area attracts highly talented and motivated engineers from outside...
Make every decision better than the last
May 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
FICO TONBELLER
No industry places a greater focus on data-based decisions than financial services. But as advanced as the industry is in this regard, more is needed. Increasing volumes of data, higher expectations from customers and bigger demands from regulators...
Addressing the funding gap in post-Brexit Britain
May 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Prestige Asset Management
Interest in the UK as a market for investment does not seem to have dissipated in the wake of the Brexit vote. Foreign investors see an opportunity from the weaker British pound to increase their exposure and there is also considerable interest...
Six things you should know when considering an appointment as a director of a Brazilian company
May 2017 | BOARDROOM INTELLIGENCE
Veirano Advogados
Especially when composed by members with diverse cultural backgrounds, a company’s board of directors may be a fascinating source of naïve realism – the human tendency to believe that we see the world around us objectively and that people...
Securing your data: a shift across the board
May 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Code42
Protecting what amounts to the lifeblood of a company – its data and its reputation – from both external attacks and operational errors is a staple business requirement. Gone are the days of limited corporate engagement on the topic...
Business intelligence in e-disclosure – why it matters
May 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Epiq Systems
Business intelligence (BI) has existed in various forms of corporate life for a number of years. From marketing teams using information such as click-through rates to gauge the success of campaigns, through to sales teams assessing the impact of individual...
Will major Croatian tax reform boost investments and reduce outflow of workers?
May 2017 | CORPORATE TAX
Vidan Law Office
On 1 January 2017, Croatia introduced a comprehensive tax reform affecting a number of tax and social contribution related laws. Most of the laws have entered into force but there have been exceptions, such as real estate tax, which will...
The Trade Facilitation Agreement
May 2017 | GLOBAL TRADE
Jones Day
On 22 February 2017 the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) finally came into force, following its ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership, including the world’s key trading nations. The TFA, which...
Canadian oil sands industry: watch this space
May 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP
Two announcements have recently rocked the Canadian oil sands industry. On 29 March 2017, ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. announced it had entered into a C$17.7bn transaction to sell almost all of its Canadian assets to Cenovus...
Infrastructure vulnerability – what do you need to know?
May 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
CLT 3 Consulting
While disruption is now a business model, it is also a sobering concern for infrastructure security. With a politically unstable world climate, and volatility at home and abroad, essential services in the US can realistically be considered at risk from attack...
Restrictive covenants in M&A transactions: corporate and labour perspectives
April 2017 | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Veirano Advogados
Restrictive covenants usually consist of more than one specific obligation – the most common being non-compete and non-solicitation obligations – designed to preserve, in an M&A transaction, the buyer’s benefit of acquiring (or investing in) a business...
Privatisations: the key to Romania’s upgrade to emerging market status
April 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Allen & Overy
Several years of intense reforms and legislative initiatives in Romania seem to be finally paying off. In September last year, Romania, an EU member since January 2007 and currently classified by FTSE Russell, MSCI and S&P Dow Jones as a frontier market...
Kazakhstan’s privatisation programme
April 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Morgan Lewis
The process of privatisation of state property in Kazakhstan began in the early 1990s after Kazakhstan obtained independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union, where private property was almost non-existent. The privatisation...
Investing into ASEAN’s emerging markets: a snapshot from the venture capital perspective
April 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
In 2011, Gideon Rachman, the chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times, proposed in his book, Zero Sum World, that the global financial crisis in 2008, coupled with the rising economic prominence of Asia, would lead to the adoption by...
Investors diversify alternative assets exposure in 2017
April 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Preqin
The alternative assets industry is bigger than ever, with more than $7.7 trillion in hedge fund and private capital assets managed globally. The industry has cemented itself as an important facet of the investment portfolios of large institutional investors...
Investment arbitration and financial products
April 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
BCH Lawyers
Over the past few years, it has been common knowledge that banks and other financial institutions do not afford arbitration much interest, believing that this mechanism of dispute resolution is at odds with their industry. We do not demonstrate...
Investments funds and access to debt restructuring agreements: a revolutionary order issued by the Court of Milan
April 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Legance
On 10 November 2016, the court of Milan, Insolvency Sector, ratified a debt restructuring agreement concluded, pursuant to Article 182-bis of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, between a closed-end real estate fund and its creditors. The peculiarity...
2017: the year alternative finance takes centre stage
April 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Quivira Capital
It is undeniable that the alternative finance sector has enjoyed significant growth over the past few years. However, up to this point, the industry has been prevented from taking centre stage by limited secured lending options, a lack of offerings...
The importance of gender diversity in financial technology
April 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Brickendon
The concept of women in technology, or in any senior business role, still grabs the headlines. Names such as Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer and Virginia Rometty are paraded about as impressive female role models, with the aim of showing...
Consumer credit in the Czech Republic: from chaos to order
April 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Wolf Theiss
The Czech Republic has long represented a promised land for non-bank consumer credit providers which enjoyed only very mild regulation and extraordinary revenues without being put under any serious scrutiny for a lack of proper risk...
Patent priority examination in Brazil – an attempt to expedite examination and go around the backlog
April 2017 | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Araripe & Associates
It is a common complaint that delays in examining patent applications by national offices causes serious harm to the patent system and, in particular, to the rights of the patentee. Such delays drastically affect business decisions and...
New DPO guidelines adopted by EU body
April 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Norrbom Vinding
The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides that public authorities, as well as certain private businesses, must designate a data protection officer (DPO). However, the general description provided by the GDPR as to when...
The next game changer in global litigation and arbitration
April 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Woodsford Litigation Funding
Third-party litigation and arbitration finance is now firmly established as a valuable tool that facilitates both litigation risk sharing and better access to justice. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Singapore, and arbitral bodies including...
Maritime mortgages in Brazil: a controversial ongoing court dispute
April 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Pinheiro Neto Advogados
Financiers usually look for a security interest over the financed asset. For financing and acquisition transactions involving assets or companies in the oil and gas business, maritime transportation and other sectors involving shipping activities, the...
What can governments and the private sector do to prepare for an economic downturn?
April 2017 | ECONOMIC TRENDS
Nexia TS Tax Services Pte Ltd
2017 is set to be a distinctive year on a number of fronts. All businesses are operating against the backdrop of an uncertain and challenging global economic environment. Not since the 1930s has such a combination of falling growth, increasing...
Alberta transitions away from coal and an energy only market toward a lower carbon power system and new capacity market
April 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
In November 2015, the newly elected New Democratic Party in Alberta released its Climate Leadership Plan (Climate Plan) introducing a multitude of policy changes intended to limit provincial greenhouse gas emissions. As these policies have...
Drug pricing: caught between ethics and politics
April 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Catenion
Drug pricing has become a topic of much heated debate, both on the political stage and among drug companies, patients and payors. Many of us are either directly or indirectly (through friends and family) affected by what seem to be ever-rising...
Relevant social and environmental impact matters for project development
April 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
Gonzalez Calvillo
In Mexico, there is an increasing tendency to see the development of projects either delayed, or cancelled, as a consequence of social protests. Social discomfort around a project may arise when the rights of indigenous people are not respected...
Outlining the new reform of the Italian Bankruptcy Law under discussion by parliament
March 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Legance
The Italian parliament is currently discussing yet another reform which touches upon the regulation of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings. However, contrary to the numerous reforms approved between 2012 and 2016, which intervened...
Recent corporate governance changes and anti-raiding measures implemented in Ukraine
March 2017 | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
AVELLUM
Historically, Ukrainian corporate laws have denied a significant degree of flexibility. For example, shareholders in a joint stock company (JSC) may not change the quorum of a general shareholder’s meeting (GSM) or the procedure for convocation...
Crime and corruption in the 4th industrial revolution
March 2017 | FRAUD & CORRUPTION
Garry Clement
The first Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanise production; the second used electric power, resulting in a vast industrial sector and the third saw the beginnings of electronics and information technology...
Cartel prosecution in the context of the ‘Lava Jato’ corruption probe
March 2017 | FRAUD & CORRUPTION
Lefosse Advogados
Recent enforcement decisions by the competition authority, especially with respect to the calculation of penalties applicable to informers, as well as interactions between the several different bodies with powers to pursue and to...
The end of privacy?
March 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Smith & Williamson LLP
How do governments secure their national tax base in a world where exchange controls have largely been abolished, money can be transferred instantly around the globe and ways of holding structures located in tax efficient jurisdictions are readily...
A best-practice approach to gain Privacy Shield certification
March 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Pitney Bowes
Against a backdrop of domestic economic turbulence, organisations are increasingly looking to minimise risk and fuel growth by expanding their business operations overseas. Encouraged by continued customer demand for variety...
The proposed e-Privacy Regulation: what is new?
March 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
Arthur Cox
In January 2017 the European Commission published its proposal for an e-Privacy Regulation (EPR) just weeks after an unofficial draft of the proposed law was leaked. The Commission’s proposal is still very much in draft form and will likely undergo...
Paying employees through prepaid debit cards is efficient, but potentially risky for employers
March 2017 | LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT
Watson Farley & Williams
The use of payroll cards is widespread and becoming more popular. In 2012 alone, businesses loaded $34.1bn worth of wage payments onto prepaid debit cards, according to Aite Group. The benefits of using prepaid debit cards are...
VAT in the financial sector: partial exemption
March 2017 | CORPORATE TAX
haysmacintyre
As the VAT year-end is fast approaching for most businesses, it is an opportune time for businesses to take stock of their VAT position. The majority of businesses in the financial sector will be partly exempt, which means that they are not...
Artificial intelligence: the investment of 2017 and beyond
February 2017 | PRIVATE EQUITY & VENTURE CAPITAL
Shoosmiths LLP
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has, for the last couple of years, dominated headlines as technologies associated with AI advance and appetite grows exponentially for AI products. Key market players in industries too many to mention...
The new Panamanian insolvency law and its cross-border insolvency provisions
February 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Mizrachi Davarro & Urriola
The recent questions laid against the world’s offshore industry, amid the so called ‘Panama Papers’ affair, have overshadowed Panama’s enactment of Law No. 12 of 19 March 2016, “[w]hich establishes the Regime of the bankruptcy proceedings...
Quasi-security transactions in Nigeria: sidestepping the adverse effects of insolvency proceedings by taking back what is yours
February 2017 | BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING
Fidelis Oditah & Co.
The importance of a security interest is highlighted when a company is unable to pay its debts. A security interest primarily secures the debtor’s payment obligation and insulates a secured creditor from insolvency. Hence, so long as a company...
The exciting future of banking technology
February 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Syntel
As waves of technological change continue to sweep across the banking industry and innovative FinTech companies introduce new technologies, 2017 promises to continue the trend of disruption we have seen in recent years. Clearly, what we think...
Recent changes in Germany regarding transparency of indirect major holdings in voting rights
February 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
K&L Gates LLP
The implementation of the EU Amending Directive (2013/50/EU) to the Transparency Directive (2004/109/EC) has resulted in a couple of changes to the notification and publication requirements for major holdings of voting rights in shares...
Listing on Euro MTF
February 2017 | CAPITAL MARKETS
Hance Law Avocats
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LSE) operates two separate markets: the Bourse de Luxembourg (Bourse), the regulated European market, and the Euro MTF (MTF), the multilateral trading platform. With over 10,000 stock market introductions in...
GDPR: do not bury your head in the sand
February 2017 | DATA PRIVACY
REaD Group
2016 was the year in which the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became a serious topic. The year was tarnished by a number of high profile company data breaches which undermined public confidence in the way companies...
Sports and intellectual property in India: an emerging sector
February 2017 | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Jafa & Javali, Advocates
The Indian sports market is rapidly growing with different disciplines such as cricket, football, badminton, hockey, tennis and kabbadi proving popular. Sport in India has never really been taken seriously, however. It has always been seen as...
Is dumping of foreign capital to offer discounts ‘anti-competitive’?
February 2017 | GLOBAL TRADE
ARA LAW
E-commerce marketplaces have been a game changer when it comes to retail trading in India. E-commerce market players have been trying to acquire a customer base for the purpose of enhancing their gross merchandise value. For some years...
How a culture of altruism benefits the bottom line
February 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Center for Conflict Resolution
In every culture, including corporate culture, there is conflict created in both the ‘quid pro quo’ profit motive and the losses inevitably resulting from the problem known as ‘the tragedy of the commons’. The secret to success lies in...
A step toward a more efficient dispute resolution mechanism in Brazilian public contracts
February 2017 | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
GVM Advogados
On 25 November 2016 the Brazilian president Michel Temer signed Provisional Measure 752/2016, which, among other objectives, seeks to remedy a series of impasses related to concession contracts in infrastructure sectors. These concessions...
The alleged transition from partners to neighbours – US and Mexico 2017
February 2017 | SECTOR ANALYSIS
González Calvillo, S.C.
In December 2013 Mexico was energised by a widespread structural and constitutional reform which initiated the so called ‘Mexican energy reform’. This change of paradigm aimed to update the country after nearly eight decades of state...
Labour contingencies should not undermine M&A deals in Argentina
January 2017 | MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Perez Alati, Grondona, Benites, Arntsen & Martínez de Hoz
As in every other M&A deal elsewhere in the world, the potential buyer of a company based in Argentina will have to carry out due diligence processes on the target, its business and assets in an interdisciplinary effort. A properly designed and...
The Austrian HETA saga: successful investor appeasement at last?
January 2017 | FINANCE & INVESTMENT
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
In October 2016, almost seven years after the emergency nationalisation of the failed Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank (a €40bn Austrian regional bank based in the province of Carinthia, which in 2014 was re-named ‘HETA Asset Resolution’ (HETA)), the Austrian...
Bridging the gap between impact investors and social impact opportunities
January 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Reed Smith LLP
For impact investment to be able to unlock its true potential in targeting positive change around the world, both sides of the impact investment spectrum must be satisfied: there must be a robust supply of capital and a sufficient number of investable...
Brexit and FinTech
January 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Morgan Lewis
Recent news reports and surveys suggest that UK FinTech firms are more concerned with the loss of EU free movement of labour than the passporting of their services to other EU markets. In many cases this is true. However, this does not...
There is such a thing as free-cash funding – but it is only for ultra-high-net-worth corporations, foundations and nations
January 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
PreConstruction Catalysts, Inc.
Raising funds for a given project is usually at the top of the to-do-list when a company, foundation or nation has a need. Conventional financing avenues can be quite disappointing in today’s environment, as banks and other financial institutions...
Maximising value in enforcement of development finance
January 2017 | BANKING & FINANCE
Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
The current economic climate of low but potentially rising interest rates, increasing inflation, weak sterling, falling overseas investment and solvency concerns in the construction industry, poses multi-faceted risks to the real estate market, and in...
I don’t wanna TalkTalk about it?
January 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
Advent IM Ltd.
In October 2016, telecoms provider TalkTalk was hit with a record £400,000 fine (and a smaller £1000 fine for another, earlier data breach) by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for security failings that led to their failure to prevent...
EPA financial provision scheme for environmental liabilities
January 2017 | RISK MANAGEMENT
Philip Lee
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the statutory body responsible for the licensing of significant activities under environmental law in Ireland. Pursuant to a number of EU environmental directives and national legislation, licensees...