10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 By David Berman, Carl Fernandes Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, and Charlotte Collins This blog post explores developments relating to the EU Benchmarks Regulation and the transition away from LIBOR. This is the third blog of this series, which has been taken from our wider publication: 10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for … Continue Reading
10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 By David Berman, Carl Fernandes Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, and Charlotte Collins In the second post of this 10-blog series, we examine recent and upcoming developments relating to MiFID II. This is taken from our wider publication: 10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 – Progress Report. … Continue Reading
By David Berman, Carl Fernandes Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton and Charlotte Collins In our January publication, we highlighted what we were seeing as the top regulatory focus areas for our clients during the year ahead, focusing on wholesale market structures and conduct risk. In a series of 10 blog posts, we will take a closer look at … Continue Reading
Call for evidence on regulatory cooperation marks the first phase of the planned review. By Carl Fernandes, Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, and Charlotte Collins The Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement that HM Treasury would undertake the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review — examining the long-term effectiveness of the UK regulatory regime and considering … Continue Reading
New length restrictions will require issuers to focus on key information for investors. By James Inness and Connor Cahalane Under the Prospectus Regulation, which comes into force on 21 July 2019 (See EU Prospectus Regulation: New Format and Content Requirements), issuers preparing equity prospectuses will need to comply with new rules on the summary section. … Continue Reading
Persisting political and economic uncertainty means awareness of market changes remains crucial. By Simon Baskerville, Tom Evans, David Walker, Stephanie Dellosa, and Catherine Campbell The 2008 distress cycle triggered defaults and restructurings for European PE portfolio companies, as maintenance covenant defaults and balance sheet deleveraging forced refinancings and debt-for-equity swaps. While restructuring conditions for PE firms are … Continue Reading
Cornerstone investments can assist a firm’s overall exit objective, particularly when there are bidders for a portfolio company but no outright buyer. By James Inness, Tom Evans, David Walker, Sonica Tolani, Connor Cahalane, and Catherine Campbell Cornerstone investments, which involve taking a stake in an about-to-list company, have been popular in Asia and in Nordic countries for … Continue Reading
The full regulation will come into force in July, imposing new requirements for prospectuses By James Inness and Connor Cahalane The new EU Prospectus Regulation will take full effect on 21 July 2019. Issuers and other parties to capital markets transactions can expect changes in the following areas: Prospectus summary: New content requirements and length … Continue Reading
The court offers guidance on reversing lawful dividend payments and when directors need to take into account creditors’ interests. By Simon J. Baskerville, Daniel Smith, Anna Hyde, Lisa Stevens, and Vanessa Morrison On 6 February 2019, the UK Court of Appeal published a judgment in BTI v. Sequana that will impact both creditors and directors … Continue Reading
CONSOB notice 8/2019 details the requirements under the Italian investor compensation scheme applicable to UK banks and investment firms operating in Italy. By Antonio Coletti and Isabella Porchia On 29 March 2019, the Italian Securities Commission (CONSOB) issued a notice detailing the terms and requirements applicable to UK banks and investment firms operating in Italy … Continue Reading
The instructions clarify the requirements applicable to banking and financial intermediaries under the Brexit Law Decree. By Antonio Coletti and Isabella Porchia On 28 March 2019, the Italian central bank (Bank of Italy) published two notices detailing the requirements for Italian banks and financial intermediaries operating in the UK, and for UK banks and financial … Continue Reading
The guidelines create new obligations for financial, payment, and electronic money institutions that will impact cloud outsourcing and deployment of FinTech. By Fiona M. Maclean and Laura Holden On 25 February 2019, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final report on its draft guidelines on outsourcing arrangements (Guidelines). The report followed the EBA’s publication … Continue Reading
European regulators’ openness to PE investors is presenting attractive banking sector opportunities, but such opportunities require careful regulatory planning and local issue navigation. By Carl Fernandes, Hans-Jürgen Luett, David Walker, Tom Evans, and Catherine Campbell Ten years ago, a PE investment in a European bank would have been a rare occurrence. However, more recently, PE … Continue Reading
As litigation funders find new disputes markets, PE firms should consider litigation funding as a growth sector — and as a valuable tool for de-risking portfolio company claims. By Stuart Alford, Dan Smith, David Walker, Tom Evans, and Catherine Campbell Litigation funding, the third-party financing of legal costs in disputes, is increasingly common in the … Continue Reading
Regulatory guidance on cryptoassets and digital currency companies may lead to a legitimisation of crypto-businesses as an investable asset class. By Stuart Davis, Sam Maxson, David Walker, Tom Evans, and Catherine Campbell Recent and upcoming regulatory guidance on cryptoassets and the regulation of companies engaged in digital currency, such as issuers, crypto-exchanges, crypto-custodians, crypto-brokers, and … Continue Reading
From August 2019, certain existing FCA rules and guidance will extend to payment service providers and e-money issuers in a signal that the FCA wants a consistent approach to consumer protection. By Rob Moulton, Brett Carr, and Frida Montenius The FCA has published a Policy Statement extending certain rules and guidance to the payment services … Continue Reading
The PSR will not review the fees and rules set by Visa and Mastercard, but will look at the practice of bundling, and will examine effects on innovation in card-acquiring services. By Brett Carr, Stuart Davis, and Christian McDermott Following the publication of its Draft Terms of Reference in July 2018, the PSR has now … Continue Reading
By Drew Levin. Maarten Overmars, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell Warranty and indemnity insurance (W&I) has become a common feature of European transactions in recent years, amid a strong sellers’ market that has enabled vendors to offload risk to buyers. According to the most recent edition of the Latham & Watkins Private M&A … Continue Reading
FATF has published its highly anticipated report on the effectiveness of the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. By Jon Holland, Rob Moulton, and Jonathan Ritson-Candler On 7 December 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its highly anticipated mutual evaluation report of the UK. The report sets out the UK’s global standing … Continue Reading
The rules will echo ESMA’s temporary measures, however the FCA will extend the CFD restriction to capture closely substitutable products (such as turbo certificates). By Rob Moulton, David Berman, Charlotte Collins, and Gabriel Lakeman The FCA has launched two consultations on: Banning the sale, marketing, and distribution of binary options to retail consumers (CP18/37) Restricting … Continue Reading
By Simeon Rudin and Beatrice Lo Recent private equity investments in high-profile deals, such as Bain Capital’s acquisition of esure and Apollo’s acquisition of Aspen Insurance, have brought European insurance sector deal values to record highs. Regulatory changes and regulators’ changing perceptions of PE firms have contributed to increased M&A activity, bringing new opportunities for insurance business … Continue Reading
Deal making is likely to surge as companies seek funding and private equity firms scour the market for buyout opportunities. By Andrea Novarese and Cataldo Piccarreta Italy is poised to help steer automotive deal activity in the final weeks of what has been another bumper year for the industry. According to PwC, global automotive deals reached US$59.3 … Continue Reading
Examples of good and poor practices provide helpful guidance, and a reminder of supervisory expectations. By Frida Montenius, Jonathan Ritson-Candler, and Charlotte Collins The FCA has published TR18/3, setting out the findings from its thematic review of the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) systems and controls in 13 Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs). Although the … Continue Reading
Legislative Decree 107/2018 clarifies new reporting obligations, disclosure obligations, and sanctions, effective September 29. By Antonio Coletti and Isabella Porchia Italy has published in the Italian Official Gazette Legislative Decree no. 107 of August 10, 2018, amending the Italian legislative provisions (Legislative Decree no. 58/1998) to transpose the Market Abuse Regulation no. 596/2014 (MAR). The … Continue Reading
