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Stablecoins as security? Never say tether
This article considers whether stablecoins such as USD Tether (USDT) which do not present the same volatility risks as Bitcoin might be a satisfactory alternative to either payment into court or a guarantee from a first-class London bank.
25 March 2024Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill: some funding opportunities
The Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill was recently introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The reforms were proposed by the Scottish Law Commission in December 2017 and the author and Dr Andrew Steven, the Scottish Law Commissioner responsible for the Commission’s report, outlined the proposed new regime in the February 2018 edition of this journal (2018) 2 JIBFL 71. It is not proposed to repeat that analysis, but instead to discuss in a little more detail some of the opportunities which arise from the Bill.
25 March 2024Sustainability/ESG ratings: does the market measure up?
In this article, we examine concerns related to the burgeoning sustainability/ESG ratings market identified in policymaker, academic and practitioner research and consider potential regulator interventions that could be on the horizon.
25 March 2024Financial sanctions: prohibitions extended to persons “connected with” Russia
This article explores recent developments in the financial sanctions deployed against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine with a particular focus on the expanded scope of those measures and the meaning of “connected with” Russia.
25 March 2024Transaction finality in blockchains: legal considerations
This article examines the settlement finality in a subtype of blockchains that relies on probabilistic settlement finality. Having studied transaction finality in blockchains, both from a private law and regulatory law perspectives, this article finds that the main difference between settlement in blockchains and those in traditional finance is the absence of intermediaries to whom the legal obligations and liabilities could be assigned in case of settlement fails. In the absence of such intermediaries, the regulatory law may be hesitant to give effect to settlement finality in such blockchains.
25 March 2024Prudential consolidation under the IFPR: making sense of the ancillary services undertakings concept
In this article, Andrew Henderson considers the concept of “ancillary services undertakings” under the new UK Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) and the UKCRR for banks. He argues that draft European Banking Authority Guidance is useful in delineating the limits of the concept and highlighting the reason for including or excluding entities within a consolidation group.
25 March 2024Protection from creditors: the law’s continuing development for corporates in Ireland
In this article William Johnston considers the new administrative rescue process available to distressed small and micro companies in Ireland. He examines the reform against the backdrop of the existing examinership process available for larger companies.
25 March 2024Why Italy does not need the trust (for now)
In this article, Lisa Curran considers the methods for protecting investors’ rights in securities under Italian law.
25 March 2024Saying how versus saying what: the choice of regulatory style in margin policy
Mandatory margin posting on derivatives portfolios is one of the key elements of post-2008 derivatives policy. Margin requirements are often calculated using risk-based models. These models typically require more margin when markets are more stressed. This can create liquidity burdens on market participants just when they are hardest to meet. There are two main approaches to addressing this: requiring that particular tools to reduce variability are incorporated in all margin models; or placing limits on the variability of margin regardless of how it is calculated. This choice is practically important and leads to insights on differences in regulatory style.
25 March 2024Anticipating an FX spot trade: front running or just trading ahead?
This article considers aspects of the recent decision in The ECU Group Plc v HSBC Bank Plc and Ors,1 in particular concerning the difference between legitimate “trading ahead” and illegitimate “front running” in the context of FX spot trading, and issues of causation. The current regulatory framework around spot FX is also considered before some practical conclusions are drawn.
25 March 2024
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