The Bank of England and HM Treasury have announced the next steps in the development of a U.K. Central Bank Digital Currency. These include the following...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published an environmental, social and governance strategy to support the financial sector in the transition to a "net zero", more sustainable and more inclusive economy....more
The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced the U.K. Government's plans to make the U.K. the world's first net zero financial centre. Under the plans, U.K. financial institutions will need to have robust...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a discussion paper on its proposed Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and sustainable investment labels. The FCA is seeking initial views on these proposals with the...more
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
10/22/2020
/ EIOPA ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinTech ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal European, U.S., U.K. and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to European corporates.
...more
On 26 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the “Act”) introduced the biggest reforms in a generation of U.K. insolvency law. It also implemented several temporary changes to both insolvency and company...more
COVID-19 has acted as an accelerator, bringing into play scenarios which were previously only contingencies and making contingencies of (and requiring planning for) situations which were previously barely imaginable. The debt...more
The English High Court has recently handed down a long-awaited judgment concerning a claim for damages against a provider of Self Invested Personal Pension schemes (“SIPPs”)....more
The U.K. Government has announced a £1.25 billion funding package for high-growth businesses driving innovation and development in the U.K. The package will be launched in May, with some payments expected to be made by...more
On 28 March 2020, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced key measures to protect companies and businesses facing major funding and operational difficulties in the current COVID-19...more
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
The FCA has published a series of measures and regulatory guidance on how financial services firms should deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In our previous client notes, “Planning in a Time of Pandemic:...more
4/1/2020
/ Banking Sector ,
Consultation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Planning ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payment Systems ,
Relief Measures ,
Short Sales ,
telephone-recording ,
UK ,
UK Payment Systems Regulator
This is the first edition of U.K. Business Crime Review— an annual publication focused on the outcomes, trends and developments over the past 12 months that are likely to be of interest to businesses operating in the United...more
EU DEVELOPMENTS -
Corporate and Capital Markets -
Institutional Investment: ESMA Report on Undue Short-Term Pressure on Corporations (Corporate Aspects) -
On 18 December 2019, the European Securities and Markets...more
1/22/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Prospectus ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Venture Capital
The U.K. House of Commons has approved the Withdrawal Agreement. Assuming this is ratified by the EU, and Royal Assent is achieved in time, the U.K. will leave the EU on January 31, 2020, entering into a “transition” or...more
1/15/2020
/ Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
EU Action Plans ,
European Commission ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Framework Agreement ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
U.K. revisions to its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regime come into force on 10 January 2020.
The U.K.’s revisions implement the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, commonly...more
1/10/2020
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
FATF ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HM Treasury ,
Private Sector ,
Risk Assessment ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
Yesterday, the EU and U.K. in principle agreed new terms for the withdrawal agreement giving effect to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. These include a revised political declaration and protocol concerning Northern...more
10/18/2019
/ Bilateral Agreements ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Regulations ,
Northern Ireland ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
SOFR – the secured overnight funding rate in USD – is a rate published by the New York federal reserve based upon secured overnight transactions in the repo market. It is of increasing importance, since it has been regarded...more
Below is a summary of the main developments in US and EU corporate governance and securities law and certain financial markets regulation developments since our last update in April 2019.
...more
The expanded Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), which comes into force on December 9, 2019, extends the framework regulating individuals charged with running certain financial institutions. The Banking SM&CR,...more
7/9/2019
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Brokers ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Investment Adviser ,
Senior Management Regime (SMR) ,
Senior Managers ,
SMCR ,
UK
U.S. DEVELOPMENTS -
SEC and NYSE/Nasdaq Developments -
SEC Proposes to Expand “Testing the Waters” Exemption to Permit Pre-Offering Communications -
On 19 February 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
6/24/2019
/ Climate Change ,
Commission Delegated Regulation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Green Bonds ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IOSCO ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal European, US and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to European corporates.
...more
4/25/2019
/ BEIS ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Italy ,
Nasdaq ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
UK
Non-EU banking groups (“non-EU groups”) with large EU operations will be required to establish an EU intermediate parent undertaking (“IPU”) according to the final changes to the Capital Requirements Directive (“CRD 5”)...more
3/26/2019
/ Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Requirements ,
EU ,
FDIC ,
Foreign Banks ,
Intermediate Holding Company (IHCs) ,
Investment Firms ,
New Legislation ,
Third Country Entities (TCEs) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
UK Post-Brexit EU Financial Services Legislation -
Shearman & Sterling today announces its publication in its Brexit Resource Center website of the U.K. post-Brexit versions of several key pieces of EU legislation and...more