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European Union
PwC on Basel Committee’s Views of its Fundamental Review of the Trading Book
On January 26 the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) released its first set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB). The BCBS published the FRTB in January 2016 with the intent to …
Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Prudential Regulation in an Age of Protectionism
The regulation of bank capital and liquidity has been in sharp focus ever since the financial crisis of 2008-09. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS”) has led the work internationally to develop a revised set of capital and liquidity …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses UK Court Ruling Giving Parliament a Say on Brexit
Following the referendum vote on June 23, 2016, the UK government proposed to notify the European Council by March 31, 2017 under article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
The UK …
No Country Left Behind: History Complicates Efforts to Harmonize Global Regulation
The European Union (EU) enacted a series of regulations in the early 2000s to improve the financial markets of member states. While the new regulations were formally the same across the EU, member countries must individually implement, supervise, and enforce …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses U.S. Tax Consequences of EU State Aid Recoupment
On September 15, the IRS and Treasury Department proposed, in Notice 2016-52 (the “Notice”), new rules that limit the ability of U.S. multinational groups to claim credits against U.S. taxes for significant foreign tax adjustments (i.e., …
Ropes & Gray reviews the Implications of the UK’s Brexit Referendum
From a legal perspective, nothing has changed following the Brexit Referendum. The UK remains a member of the EU and applicable EU law remains in force. Although the outcome of the Referendum is not legally binding on the UK government1 …
Ropes & Gray discusses EU Third-Country Passport for Alternative Investment Funds
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, …
Shearman & Sterling offers the Lowdown on EU General Data Protection Law
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 …
Gibson Dunn explains the New EU-Wide Rules on Cybersecurity
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 …
Latham & Watkins discusses the Iran Nuclear Agreement: Top 10 Observations
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 …
PwC explains Brexit: Five Key Points
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 …
The Role of Creditor Protection and Judicial Enforcement on Credit Access
The quality of the legal system matters for firms’ access to bank loans: Strong creditor and property rights and a rigorous judicial enforcement system with short, cheap and simple proceedings create favourable conditions for bank lending.
Bank loans are a …
Fried Frank Analyzes In re: Barclays Liquidity Cross and High Frequency Trading Litigation
Last week, a federal district court judge in New York overseeing several multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) proceedings dismissed all claims against Barclays PLC, Barclays Capital Inc., and several major U.S. stock exchanges (the “Exchanges”), including NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, …
PwC discusses AML Global Alignment: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The fourth and latest iteration of the EU’s anti-money laundering directive (AMLD IV) was published on June 5th, after clearing its last legislative stop at the European Parliament. The new directive brings the EU’s anti-money laundering laws more …
Shearman & Sterling discusses Capital Markets Unions: the EU’s Next Focus for Reforms
On 18 February 2015, the European Commission published a green paper on building a Capital Markets Union, alongside two complementary consultation papers on a revised EU framework for securitisation and a review of the Prospectus Directive. The proposals are part …
Clifford Chance discusses Setting a New Benchmark
The Council of the EU has reached political agreement on the EU Benchmark Regulation (the Regulation). The legislation will impose controls on a range of financial market activity that uses interest rate, currency, commodity and other indices to set prices …
The Single Resolution Mechanism in the European Banking Union
With the adoption of the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) the European Union (EU) established the second crucial pillar of the European Banking Union (EBU), further promoting the financial stability and efficiency of the European …
Is Europe finally converging with the US on sanctions for insider trading and other market abuses?
Traditionally, the view of the US, whether in business or academia, has been that it was a place for weak private enforcement and stronger public enforcement. However, when compared with the level of public enforcement in the European Member States, …