In Practice
117
Regulatory divergence after Brexit: laying the foundations for a new UK regime
On 24 December 2020, the UK and EU finally reached agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal. As expected, and as acknowledged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday 27 December,1 that agreement contains very limited provision for cross-border trade in financial services. On the same day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggested that the UK will now be able to “do things a bit differently” on financial services. This In Practice article briefly examines what that could mean for UK financial sector regulation in the near future and beyond.
13 June 2024Sanctions compliance considerations for financial institutions post-Brexit
Following the end of the transition period after the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK’s autonomous sanctions regime (under the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018)) came into force on 31 December 2020. This regime is largely similar to the EU sanctions regime, but there are several differences which may have implications for financial institutions’ sanctions compliance programmes.
13 June 2024EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy
In this In Practice article, Daniel Nevzat provides a short overview of the Climate Delegated Act outlining the technical screening criteria (TSC) which set the conditions for an economic activity to qualify as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation under the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
13 June 2024Financing real estate-backed operating businesses: documentary pitfalls
In this In Practice article the authors examine the potential issues that can arise when using the LMA Facility Agreement for Real Estate Finance Investment Transactions (LMA REF Facility Agreement) as the basis for documenting credit facilities made available to real estate-backed operating businesses.
13 June 2024Pooled audit: a welcome step forward, but not yet over the line …
The option to participate in collective assurance activities is welcome, but this article makes the case for more guidance from sectoral regulators and competition authorities to allow banks and their service providers to truly get comfortable.
13 June 2024SPAC -linked margin loans
The recent increase in the use of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) has been generating much discussion in the press, the finance industry and among lawyers and regulators. The trend began in the US and is spreading across the globe, with securities exchanges in a number of jurisdictions competing to position themselves as an alternative listing venue of choice for SPACs. In this In Practice article, the authors consider their structure and risk profile and whether the securities that they issue have the potential to be a new asset class for margin lenders.
13 June 2024In search of lost time: Part 1: the automation and data thesis
In this In Practice article Charles Kerrigan considers automation and standardisation in commercial lending transactions. Part 2 of this article considers the effect on these topics of the fintech industry’s development.
13 June 2024The impact of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 on credit insurers and suppliers
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) came into force in June 2020 as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, aimed at promoting the rescue of companies in financial difficulties. It introduced three new permanent measures: a “Moratorium” procedure; a procedure for the compromise or arrangement with creditors of a company in financial difficulties or “Restructuring Plan”, and rules prohibiting the termination of contracts for the supply of goods and services by reason of insolvency (the so called “ipso facto” clauses) as well as a number of temporary measures intended to reduce the number of insolvency procedures during the pandemic. The Act represents the biggest change to insolvency legislation in 20 years and has particular implications for supply chains and credit insurance (for instance, will credit insurers continue cover if a supplier is forced by the new measures to continue to supply?), which we will consider in this article.
13 June 2024Approaching the endgame: LIBOR transition in the Swiss syndicated loan market
As readers of JIBFL will be well aware, it is expected that LIBOR will no longer be available after the end of 2021, with the exception of certain tenors for USD LIBOR that will be published until the end of June 2023 and, potentially, a synthetic LIBOR for certain currency-tenor settings. While EUR LIBOR will cease to be available, there are no current plans to discontinue EURIBOR. With the Swiss franc (CHF) being one of the five LIBOR currencies and CHF LIBOR being used as reference rate for the calculation of interest in virtually every CHF denominated syndicated credit facility agreement, LIBOR transition poses an immense challenge to the Swiss syndicated loan market. Although we have seen the first pathfinder transactions using risk free rates,1 the Swiss market is yet to experience a big shift.
13 June 2024Location, location, location: the EU’s “location policy” for euro-denominated derivatives clearing
In this article, the author considers the EU’s “location policy” which requires euro-denominated derivatives clearing to take place in the EU, including how links between CCPs which meet international standards may actually increase multilateral netting benefits.
13 June 2024
