The ruling confirms that courts will consider substance over form when assessing collective investment scheme arrangements and exemptions under securities law. By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong On 2 August 2023, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of 律政司司長 (Secretary of Justice) v. IPFUND Asset Management Limited [2023] HKCA … Continue Reading
Insurance Ordinance amendments would create a risk-based capital regime aligned with international standards. By Simon Hawkins and Adrian Fong On 6 April 2023, the Hong Kong government introduced the Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2023 into the Legislative Council to amend the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41, Laws of Hong Kong) (IO) and implement a risk-based capital (RBC) … Continue Reading
Latest FCA consultation focuses on remuneration, risk management and governance, and liquidity requirements. By Rob Moulton and Charlotte Collins On 19 April 2021, the FCA published its second Consultation Paper (CP21/7) on the new UK investment firms prudential regime (IFPR). The IFPR will create a new prudential regime for FCA-authorised MiFID investment firms, and will … Continue Reading
Regulators seek to expand market connectivity for wealth management products and enhance financial institutions’ environmental risk management. By Farhana Sharmeen, Simon Hawkins, Kenneth Hui, and Marc Tan This blog post summarises key regulatory developments in Hong Kong and Singapore during June 2020, including: The announcement of a new “Wealth Management Connect” mutual market access project … Continue Reading
The FCA publicly censured the IT service provider for publishing false information about its net debt and holdings of cash and cash equivalents. By Chris Horton, James Inness, David Berman and Katy Sanders On 26 June 2020, the FCA issued a final notice to Redcentric PLC (Redcentric), publicly censuring Redcentric for committing market abuse, between … Continue Reading
While regulators in the EU have lifted the temporary COVID-19-related short-selling bans, they will monitor the markets and impose further restrictions if required. By Carl Fernandes and Sherryn Buehlmann Regulators in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain announced that the temporary short-selling bans imposed in those jurisdictions expired on 18 May 2020 at 11.59pm. … Continue Reading
Key issues that typically arise in connection with debt repurchase programs. By Rob Moulton and Anna Lewis-Martinez Market shifts often lead companies and their affiliates to actively consider debt repurchases. Important legal considerations include: contractual restrictions; potential disclosure obligations; listing implications; the impact of tender offer rules; consequences of debt purchase transactions; how debt purchase … Continue Reading
Further economic measures provide support for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as state and local economies facing pandemic hardships. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar The Federal Reserve, in its continuing efforts to safeguard financial markets, provide stability to the financial system, and support the flow of credit in the economy, … Continue Reading
The package combines temporary policy interventions and existing options to help companies raise new share capital during the COVID-19 crisis. By Chris Horton, James Inness, Rob Moulton, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 8 April 2020, the FCA published a Statement of Policy and related technical supplements aimed at helping companies to raise new share capital during … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies continue to take additional steps to promote the functioning of the financial system in the face of the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery, Pia Naib, and Deric Behar The three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit … Continue Reading
Seven of the largest systemically important UK deposit-takers to suspend dividends and share buybacks and to cancel payments of any outstanding 2019 dividends. By Rob Moulton and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 31 March 2020, the PRA published a statement on deposit takers’ approach to dividend payments, share buybacks, and cash bonuses in response to COVID-19. The PRA … Continue Reading
In three recent Client Alerts, Latham & Watkins lawyers examine how government measures to fight COVID-19 may affect French M&A transactions, key questions for French listed companies and high yield issuers, and how companies can respond to the impact on their current French law contracts. By Latham’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets, and Litigation & … Continue Reading
The FCA, the Bank of England, and members of the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates have stated that firms should still plan for the transition away from LIBOR at the end of 2021. By Becky Critchley, Jonathan Ritson-Candler, and Anna Lewis-Martinez On 25 March 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), after discussions with … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies have taken additional steps to enable the financial system to continue functioning during the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery and Pia Naib The three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office … Continue Reading
The regulator is taking immediate supervisory and policy measures to help support banks, insurers, and financial market infrastructures. By Rob Moulton and Charlotte Collins The Bank of England and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have announced a number of measures aimed at alleviating operational burdens on PRA-regulated firms, and Bank-regulated financial market infrastructures (FMIs), in … Continue Reading
The three US federal banking agencies have taken steps to enable the financial system to continue functioning during the pandemic. By Alan W. Avery and Pia Naib During the course of this week, the three US federal banking agencies — the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance … Continue Reading
