Sky Blog
The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published on July 19, 2016 its final advice to the European Commission (the “Commission”) on the extension of the marketing passport under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”)1 to twelve non-EEA2 countries, …
Diversity in corporate boards is a hot topic. We contribute to the debate on the role of diversity by empirically documenting that greater national cultural diversity in corporate boards leads to lower performance at UK firms accounting for more than …
Most of the lawsuits against Argentina in the New York courts ended in the Spring of 2016 through cash settlements with the major litigants. The market is still digesting the lessons from this 15 years of bitter litigation. That …
Financial reform has driven many changes in American governance, but the most dramatic one may prove to be the government’s cautious, but wide-ranging, embrace of a revised global regime to regulate international finance. That reform has moved the equilibrium of …
On April, 27 2016, the European Council and Parliament finally adopted a new data protection law: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The following is a summary of key issues and a checklist of initial tasks to help you prepare …
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act provided shareholders of U.S. public corporations the right to vote on chief executive officers’ compensation, at least every three years. The so–called say on pay vote is advisory but was designed to curb overly generous executive …
On July 6, 2016, the European Parliament officially adopted the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive[1] which is expected to fully enter into force in May 2018. The NIS Directive is the first set of cybersecurity rules to be …
Insider trading is a serious form of misconduct and can result in defendants receiving lengthy prison sentences and significant monetary sanctions. Our working paper, ‘Sanctions Imposed for Insider Trading in Australia, Canada (Ontario), Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, the …
“Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.” – Warren Buffet[1]
In recent years, there have been ongoing occurrences of serious professional misbehavior, ethical lapses and compliance failures at financial institutions. It was the crisis that exposed …
Six months have passed since the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Nuclear Agreement), and the related easing of certain trade and economic sanctions on Iran. As discussed …
Should governments be relying on corporate and securities law to promote humanitarian goals? This is the question that naturally arises when viewing the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Payment Rule, which requires corporations to disclose their conflict mineral usage as a means …
A new type of warfare is upon us. In this new mode of war, finance is the most powerful weapon, bullets are not fired, financial institutions are the targets, and almost everyone is at risk. Instead of smart bombs, improvised …
Academics who profess expertise in corporate governance sometimes find themselves on very strange turf. That has been my status for the last two years, serving as an adviser to the U.S. Commerce Department in connection with the Obama Administration’s efforts …
Reinsurance can be understood as simply insurer’s insurance. Under an insurance contract, a policyholder is protected from loss by transferring risk to an insurer; analogously, under a reinsurance contract, an insurer (the cedent or ceding company) is protected from exposure …
On June 16, 2016, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a proposed rule (available here), which, if adopted, would result in a revamp of its disclosure requirements for mining company issuers. The proposed rule is intended to …
Attackers last February reportedly stole $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank by obtaining and exploiting the bank’s credentials for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.[1] The attack – one of the biggest bank robberies in …
Much has been written and spoken in the immediate aftermath of the UK’s EU referendum about what the UK must do to leave the EU. We look at the key questions in this area, such as whether the UK has …
The Brent and WTI prices of crude oil fell by 60% between June 2014 and January 2015, marking one of the fastest and largest declines in oil history. Several potential factors (related to oil supply and demand) which could have …
The UK voters’ decision to exit the EU came as a surprise to many observers, as well as the markets, with the “Leave” campaign even hinting at defeat as the polls closed. The Wall Street echo chamber view that it …