In this article, Darragh Connell considers the wording of the draft Property (Digital Assets) Bill and the matters that the legislature has left for the common law to develop.
24 November 2024This article summarises key issues relevant to lenders and borrowers in loan financings that involve companies limited by guarantee as a borrower, guarantor and/or security provider.
24 November 2024In this article Jonathan Haines considers whether the crystallisation of a floating charge means that it can qualify retrospectively under the Financial Collateral Arrangements (No. 2) Regulations 2003 (2003/3226) and the impact of that on other creditors.
27 October 2024The concept of blended finance is not new. But it is being applied beyond its traditional development and impact finance roots as a way to mobilise scaled private capital flows for the purposes of achieving sustainable development goals. In this article, we look at the different definitions of “blended finance” and how blended finance can be used to combine public and private capital for climate, nature and broad sustainable development purposes.
27 October 2024In this article, Jean-François Adelle considers the treatment of secured creditors in in-court restructurings following the 2021 reforms.
27 October 2024This article examines the conundrum of the law applicable to legal tender and its definition in the context of the European Commission’s 2023 proposals for regulations establishing the digital euro and clarifying the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins. The proposed regulations bring a welcome clarification of the concept of legal tender and define its scope of application for the digital euro. While the scope of application is not wholly without criticism, it is welcome as it stresses the core payment function of legal tender and enshrines the place of payment as the key connecting factor. It is thus argued that the place of payment rule may be read as a unilateral conflict-of-laws rule, which may also be applied universally as a multilateral conflict rule for better integration within the existing European conflict-of-laws system. A multilateral conflict rule would arguably bring greater legal certainty on matters of payment of monetary obligations.
27 October 2024The SEC v Ripple Labs, Inc. case1 has attracted great interest because of its implications for the qualification of digital assets as securities and, in general, for the future of cryptos in the US, where digital assets are not regulated as such. The EU has adopted a far-reaching regulation of cryptoassets (MiCAR),2 which however, does not apply to cryptoassets that fall under the definition of financial instruments, thus leaving the question open as to the applicable regime. To compare potential outcomes had the case been heard in the EU, this article focuses on the issue of whether and under what conditions cryptoassets can be classified as financial instruments under EU law, and the legal implications of such a classification. This article further analyses the interaction between MiCAR and certain existing national regimes that attract to regulation financial products other than financial instruments. Additionally, a summary of the corresponding regulatory landscape in the UK is provided.
27 October 2024The parties to a finance transaction are understandably focussed on the commercial deal but the words used in the relevant contracts for the transaction really do matter. The choice, order or absence of words can in some circumstances have a direct monetary impact on the contracting parties’ positions. In this article, the authors consider principles of contractual construction, with recent illustrations from the world of finance and suggestions as to steps parties can take to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty.
27 October 2024In this article Alex Potts KC identifies the three main areas of litigation, and regulatory enforcement activity, associated with NAV finance in the Cayman Islands.
27 October 2024The genesis and development by IBRD and its structuring banks of bonds with coupons linked to the issuance of carbon credits has been an exciting development in the capital markets and in the natural capital space, though the asset class is not without its challenges. This article explains how this new type of bond works and considers how the asset class can be further developed into a widely used instrument capable of providing large-scale upfront funding to natural capital projects across the globe.
27 October 2024