MAGAZINE
March 2020 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Utilising AI in financial compliance
Given the increasing compliance demands on organisations from the public and regulators alike, companies cannot afford to neglect their compliance obligations. The role of compliance is to prevent, detect, respond to and remediate risk and financial…
FEATURES
Changes afoot? – MiFID II criticism comes to the boil
Hailed as a landmark piece of legislation upon its arrival a little over two years ago, the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) – legislation instituted by the European Commission (EC) to regulate financial markets in…
Operational resilience for financial institutions
In the decade or so since the global financial crisis, the way that banks and other financial institutions (FIs) think about risk has evolved significantly. In the UK, due to the work of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)…
Overcoming hurdles to start-up success
Any new venture is generally considered a risk in the world of business – a gamble at the mercy of a range of financial, legal and human factors. Essentially, in the realm of the start-up, failure is the norm. The majority of studies show that around 90 percent of start-ups…
Cleaning the ‘noodle bowl’: hopes high for mega APAC FTA
Following seven years and more than 20 rounds of often intense negotiations covering a wide range of trade-related topics, expectations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are understandably high. A free trade agreement (FTA)…
Room for improvement in the European biosimilars market
The global biologics industry is changing. Across a variety of jurisdictions significant challenges exist, particularly with regard to patent expiration, which opens doors for the biosimilars market. By September 2019, 60 biosimilars were approved in the EU…
ROUNDTABLE
Sanctions compliance & enforcement
THE PANELLISTS: Kostas Katsoulis, Cardinal Health; Amber Vitale, FTI Consulting; Judith Alison Lee, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Kimberly N. Brown, IBM; Adela Deaconu, Royal Philips; Lindsey F. Randall, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Elizabeth Davy, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
Sanctions and other trade-related restrictions can frequently disrupt a company’s global operations. Recent activity, such as increasing US sanctions, particularly against Iran, as well as the broadening of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) jurisdiction…
SPECIAL REPORT
Q&A: Managing third-party risks: due diligence and decision making
FW moderates a discussion on managing third-party risks with due diligence and decision making between Pete Woglom and Joann Arweiler at BDO.
Welcome to 2020 – the year of digital risk
With holiday season a distant memory, most of us are currently either in annual planning mode or in the early days of executing risk plans. This year feels different – and it is not simply because of current events affecting the UK, including Brexit. 2020 has been…
How to be sanctions compliant in a shifting sanctions landscape
International Compliance Association A recent tweet by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced new sanctions against entities in China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which did business with Iran. “Maximum pressure on the Iranian regime…
Gibbs Giden Picture any large-scale transaction, whether it be a commercial lease, construction project contract or licensing agreement. The parties have negotiated the deal for months and spent thousands of dollars in legal fees. Finally, the day has come to sign on…
Financial services: in the focus of the competition authorities, with new challenges ahead
Baker Botts Few sectors have attracted more attention from the antitrust agencies in recent years than the financial sector. The last five years have seen unprecedented enforcement activity with multibillion-dollar fines and civil damages actions against the world’s leading…
Utilising the IRS streamlined compliance programme to manage US tax risk
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. United States (US) taxpayers living abroad who have not filed US tax returns should take steps now to minimise their tax risk before it is too late. Presently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides various options to correct one’s taxes in the form of disclosure…
TALKINGpoint
Tax challenges arising from digitalisation – global anti-base erosion mechanism
FW discusses tax challenges arising from digitalisation and the global anti-base erosion mechanism with Matthew Gillespie, Boris Nemirov, Martin Rabenort and Bob Stack at Deloitte Tax.
Construction sector: technology and risk management
FW discusses technology and risk management issues in the construction sector with Erin Patrick Roberts at EY.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Apergy merges with Ecolab’s upstream energy business in $3.9bn deal
In a combination which creates a global leader in production-optimisation solutions, Apergy Corporation is to merge with Ecolab’s upstream energy business in a transaction valued at $3.9bn. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Ecolab will…
EDP sells hydro plants in $2.4bn deal
Energias de Portugal SA (EDP), Portugal’s largest utility company, has agreed to sell six hydro power plants in the Douro river basin to a consortium led by France’s Engie SA for $2.4bn. EDP expects the deal to be completed by the second half of 2020…
private equity & venture capital
Lone Star agrees to acquire BASF’s Construction Chemicals business for €3.17bn
On 21 December 2019, chemicals giant BASF and an affiliate of global private equity firm Lone Star announced that an agreement had been reached to acquire BASF’s Construction Chemicals business for €3.17bn on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal is expected…
Partners Group buys ECP for $2.2bn
In what represents private equity’s latest vision-care investment of scale, global private markets investment manager Partners Group has made a $2.2bn equity investment on behalf of its clients in EyeCare Partners LLC (ECP), the largest vertically integrated medical…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Celadon Group files for Chapter 11 protection
Due to a federal investigation into alleged financial fraud which incurred significant costs, as well as the ever-present challenges facing the trucking industry, truckload shipping company Celadon Group, along with its 25 affiliates, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy…
Borden Dairy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Borden Dairy, one of the largest and oldest dairy companies in the US, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company, which was founded in 1856, became the second major US dairy producer to file…
SPOTlight
The emerging role of family offices in M&A and investing
Becker & Poliakoff Today’s finance and M&A environment is fast paced and multifaceted. The world is becoming a more complex place and so is investing. Funding today comes from a variety of private and public sources. Increasingly, family offices are becoming an important…
How to invest into the energy value chain during a period of change
Gneiss Energy There is no doubt the energy transition years are firmly upon us. When discussing investment strategies, we are cognisant that a transition requiring decades to achieve is increasingly being impacted by public pressure to deliver affordable…
Finance sector – what lies ahead in 2020?
Norton Rose Fulbright Financial institutions (FIs) are facing yet another busy year in 2020. In this article we touch on some of the key regulatory initiatives that will be demanding their attention, including, of course, Brexit. An important part of the Withdrawal Agreement is that there shall…
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP International arbitration has long offered participants the benefit of maintaining confidentiality in resolving high-stakes disputes. Like virtually all modern activity, however, arbitration has become increasingly digital and thus potentially vulnerable to cyber attacks…
Preparing for what’s now and what’s next in privacy
Baker Botts Privacy is now a C-suite issue: US and EU regulators are imposing eye-popping fines and obligations on companies that do not keep their promises or fail to secure personal data; near-daily data breaches grab headlines and put corporate brands at risk…
The US remains a stable environment for commercial arbitration award enforcement
Mayer Brown LLP As indicated by recent US court decisions, the US remains a stable and attractive forum for enforcing foreign and domestic commercial arbitration awards. Barring only narrowly defined exceptions, US courts will consistently enforce commercial arbitration awards…
CONTRIBUTORS
Baker Botts
BDO
Becker & Poliakoff
Cardinal Health
Deloitte Tax
EY
FTI Consulting
Gibbs Giden
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Gneiss Energy
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C.
IBM
International Compliance Association
Mayer Brown LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright
Royal Philips
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP