We are pleased to announce the launch of the Cleary FinTech Update, our new blog that provides updates and insights on the fast-moving world of FinTech legal, policy and business developments. The pace of innovation is sometimes breathtaking, and our multidisciplinary team spans the legal expertise essential to allow you to stay on top of the fascinating interaction of FinTech innovation and legal thinking.

Christopher Mallon, Shai y. Waisman and ray C. Schrock (editors) (2nd edition) (2017, oUP, oxford), 503pp, £195, ISBN 978-0-19-875539-5. This text takes as its essential foundation the need to bring together issues affecting restructuring practice in the two jurisdictions where most cross-border businesses of a certain magnitude will have acquired debt, more often than not in both jurisdictions at the same time.

As we have reported previously, the result of the European Union referendum (Brexit) was announced on 24 June 2016 with a vote in favour of the United Kingdom exiting. We have issued a series of Brexit updates since the date of the referendum. To access such prior alerts, please visit our Brexit page. UK and EU Brexit divorce agreement An agreement has been reached in respect of the nature of the UK’s exit from the EU, which will enable future relationship negotiations to begin.

With effect from April 6, 2006, under the combined provisions of two sets of regulations, employers in multi-employer schemes and employers with occupational pension schemes, or personal pension schemes where direct payment arrangements exist, are required to consult active and prospective members before taking decisions to make certain changes to future pension provisions. Prospective members are, broadly, employees eligible to join.

In this latest banking reform updater, we discuss the international standard set by the Financial Stability Board (‘FSB’) regarding Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (‘TLAC’) and its European counterpart, the Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (‘MREL’) together with the European Banking Authority’s (‘EBA’) October 2017 opinion on the UK’s departure from the EU.

Regulators have made clear their view that responsibility for the culture of a bank sits at the top; if senior management create the right culture, good regulatory practice and procedures will naturally follow. Following the financial crisis banks’ senior management have come under increasing regulatory scrutiny and in some jurisdictions proposals have been put forward to make it easier to make them accountable for their actions. To help you keep up to date with current developments, we have produced a comparative analysis of how senior management responsibility in banks is being treated in

Essential Pensions News covers the latest pensions developments each month. VAT exemption for pension fund management services provided to DB schemes to be withdrawn for insurers In a development which will principally affect defined benefit (DB) schemes, on October 5, 2017, HMRC published an unexpected Revenue and Customs Brief 3 which announced that, with effect from January 1, 2018, there will be a change to the policy relating to the VAT treatment of services provided by insurers to pension funds without special investment fund (SIF) status.

Last week, the British government trumpeted news of a planned new court, which will be based in the country's financial district and will focus upon economic offences such as fraud and cybercrime. Some politicians have heralded the new facility, which is currently described as the City of London Judicial Centre, as a sign of how London will, in the era of Brexit, remain at the forefront of legal expertise1.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is prevalent in the news, billed as a super intelligence. As the quip goes: it is hard to make predictions especially about the future but the predictions are that we may get to Artificial Super Intelligence (i.e. when they are way smarter than us) by 2045-2060. AI is often met by fear. We all know the story of Frankenstein, written 200 years ago: an AI creature turns on his creator. Concerns abound e.g. about ethical/privacy/social and economic considerations.

Since 31 May 2002, the European Insolvency Regulation (“EIR”) has had direct effect in England and Wales. This allows for the automatic recognition across Europe of insolvency proceedings in EU Member States. This means that Licensed Insolvency Practitioners (“IPs”) can take control and realise the assets of an insolvent company or of an individual who is bankrupt in another EU Member State quickly, cheaply and efficiently.