The Covid-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption in regards to the performance timelines of contracts, projects and deliverables. This article looks at the Indian law on injunctions on enforcement of bank guarantees in light of the pandemic, by analysing the case of Halliburton Offshore Services Incorporated v Vedanta Limited and Anr in the Delhi High Court.
The Central Bank of Brazil is preparing a significant reform of the country's foreign exchange regulation, which aims to simplify the current laws and regulation. The old rules, which are still in force, reflect the previous governmental concern about foreign exchange control and the impact on the daily operation and currency flows of the market. The intention behind the reform is to grant to foreign capital the same legal treatment offered to local capital under equivalent conditions.
Certain sectors have been virtually excluded from accessing a minimum level of banking services for years in Belgium due to the anti-money laundering concerns of financial institutions. A new law will make it possible for such enterprises to obtain a basic banking service after having been refused three times as a customer.
There have been several recent developments in regard to the implementation of Basel III in Chile. The banking regulator has enacted new rules that provide a clear regulatory framework on how two of the key legal innovations that were introduced by the Chilean General Banking Act, as amended in 2019 and based on the recommendations of Basel III (ie, systemically important banks and the new capital requirements), will be put into practice.
The global pandemic brought on by Covid-19 will continue to impact the approaches of borrowers and financiers in relation to credit facility negotiations. These facilities include variations protections for lenders which are heavily negotiated throughout the drafting process and it is these clauses which are now coming under increased scrutiny during Covid-19. This article will look at the impact that Covid-19 has had on ‘material adverse effect’.
Financial institutions often retain consultants to investigate claims of harassment, data breaches, and other troubling events that could lead to liability to employees, customers, or consumers. In the event of litigation, opposing counsel often seek discovery of the fruits of these internal investigations, such as interview notes and confidential internal documents, to try to find damaging evidence.
In line with a trend of dematerialisation of financial assets and securities within the Brazilian financial system, the Brazilian Central Bank has recently regulated the use of bills of exchange (duplicatas) in book-entry form by financial institutions. This article discusses the recent main innovations in this regard.
In a world in which financial services are practically considered public services, innovation becomes a key factor for economic and financial consolidation. In Colombia, the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) is working hard to promote development and innovation in technology for the financial sector. The Regulatory Sandbox incorporated by the SFC is a success worth highlighting as it has promoted and approved more than eight FinTech projects.
In recent years, the Mexican lending market has grown significantly, with lenders seeking special measures or specific legal instruments to secure financing transactions. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on the security interest market in Mexico because many credit institutions and individuals lack the ability to calculate and predict market fluctuations and their corresponding financial results. However, Mexican law provides two general guarantees: personal guarantees and real guarantees.
This article provides an overview of Australian law governing the priority afforded to competing secured creditors where a prior-ranking creditor advances funds to a borrower having received notice of a subsequent security interest.
In 2008, the Zimbabwe Government legislated to replace foreign currencies which were legal tender solely with the reintroduced Zimbabwean Dollar for the settlement of all obligations. Banks settled US dollar balances in the new currency. One depositor sued a commercial bank and the Central Bank for dollar withdrawal based on the banker–customer relationship which underpins banking law; the High Court ruled in the client’s favour.
The Mexican banking authority has issued the first round of temporary guidelines intended to deal with the foreseeable economic stress posed by the Covid-19 pandemic on bank loan portfolios, and consequently, on the capitalisation of Mexican banks. This article outlines the loan portfolio classification rules applicable to Mexican banks and discusses the streamlined bank loan restructuring provisions issued by the Mexican banking commission in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The following article contrasts the possible amendment that may be executed on issuer disclosures in the Colombian legal regime and its similarities with the US regulation contained in Section 409 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX Act).
Following the guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering for the banking sector, Brazil recently changed the regulatory regime for financial institutions, setting forth a risk-based approach for anti-money laundering and compliance matters. The risk-based approach to supervision provides that the controls used in a certain operation or with a certain customer shall be proportionate to the level of risk posed by such operation or customer.
In the face of the global ecological crisis, the financial industry is looking for ways to support initiatives for sustainable growth. Banks are more and more actively granting loans that motivate borrowers to step up such measures and 2019 was a breakthrough year for sustainable debt. What really is sustainable debt and how does it differ from other green financing products? Does it have a potential to become a mainstream product despite the pandemic?
Financial technology is transforming the financial sector. The Brazilian Central Bank has been working to provide a favourable regulatory environment to foster innovation. This article discusses some of the most recent regulatory measures taken by the Brazilian Central Bank: the structuring of an instant payment system and the regulation of open banking in Brazil.
In 2018, the Luxembourg legislator modernised the regime of outsourcing to help Luxembourg to become a hub for outsourcing of financial group companies. In this article, we consider the main aspects of the regime in the Luxembourg financial sector in light of Luxembourg’s professional secrecy rules.
Covid-19 has taken the world by surprise and the global economy has halted and even plunged into a recession. The obvious consequence is that the operations of major businesses and Small and Medium-sized enterprises in many countries have been disrupted. Supply chains have been adversely affected and countries round the world are already witnessing a significant number of job losses. The situation in Mauritius is no exception.
Co-Chair's note - Banking Law Committee newsletter article, May 2020.
The recent regulation on payment service providers (PSPs) is a clear sign that the Argentine Central Bank started a regulating process in order to closely monitor Fintech companies in Argentina. The regulation defines: (1) PSPs as legal entities that, without being banks, serve at least one function in a ‘retail payment scheme’; and (2) payment accounts as accounts offered by a PSP to make or receive payments.
It may be the biggest tax heist in history. Stock traders are accused of siphoning $60bn from state coffers, in a scheme described as ‘the devil’s machine’. Germany is the first country to try to get its money back. This article examines the issues of tax liability of parties involved in cum-ex transactions in Germany and asks about the civil law possibilities of recourse for joint and several debtors who have made payments to the German tax authorities.
Green finance is becoming important, but how do we, as lawyers, define it? Unfortunately, a comprehensive and binding legal definition of green finance instruments is not yet to be found in either national or international law. The International Capital Market Association has its Green Bond Principles, but these are private standards. The European Union is in the process of establishing a legal framework for green financing.
The Covid-19 pandemic is affected life and business in ways never seen before. Financial systems are especially affected by the crisis because they directly suffer the impact of unemployment and credit renegotiations. This article briefly describes the measures taken so far by the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and by the Brazilian federal government to tackle the consequences of the crisis on the financial system.
By Kilian Bälz and Laila Rizk. The Egyptian Central Bank regulates payment service providers.
By Kilian Bälz and Hussam Mujally. Libya – Supreme Court upholds interest in commercial transactions (Third Civil Chamber 467/Judicial Year 64 of 16 June 2019).
By Giulio Tognazzi. Real estate securitisation transactions – a few preliminary remarks and suggestions.
By Maurício Teixeira dos Santos, Vinicius Sahione and Alexandre Vargas. Financial institutions in Brazil: Decree encourages foreign equity investment.
By Marcelo Godke. Presidential Decree facilitates access to Brazilian banking market.
By Mattias Anjou, Johan Löfquist and Isabelle Vinterskog. Sweden – a flourishing fintech start-up scene in spite of regulatory hurdles
By Jean-Guillaume de Tocqueville. UBS case: developments in case law on laundering of tax fraud proceeds and likely consequences on the fine imposed.