Introduction
Yesterday the Joint Forum, a group established in 1996 by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to deal with issues common to the banking, securities, and insurance sectors, released “Review of the Differentiated Nature and Scope of Financial Regulation – Key Issues and Recommendations”, which addresses key issues and recommendations on the differenti
1. INTRODUCTION
1. In May 2019, the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce ("UKJT"), a subsidiary of the UK's LawTech Delivery Panel, issued a consultation paper on the status of cryptoassets and smart contracts in English private law ("Consultation Paper"). In his foreword to the Consultation Paper, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales (the "Chancellor") commented that "perceived legal uncertainty" was the reason for some lack of confidence amongst market participants and investors in cryptoassets and smart contracts.1
The financial crisis has brought significant regulatory changes for credit institutions, many of them aimed at strengthening their capital requirements and creating safety buffers to absorb losses and recapitalise unsound and failing institutions.
The latest is an instrument known as senior non-preferred debt, which is midway between senior debt and subordinated/Tier 2 debt. This instrument will not qualify as Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital, but will be eligible to compute for purposes of TLAC/MREL requirements and will be cheaper for banks than pure subordinated debt.
Given the absence of any mandatory set-off rights on insolvency in the current UAE Bankruptcy Law, the application and effectiveness of netting provisions in financial market contracts made with a UAE counterparty has historically been uncertain.
Having double dipped and bumped along the bottom, the UK economy's rollercoaster ride looks set to continue for some time to come. Yet despite these grim conditions, it has been surprising to see a year on year decline in the number of companies entering formal insolvency. Our restructuring group reports on the factors at play and their experience of the current market.
MF Global, one of the world's leading broker/dealer firms entered into insolvency proceedings in both the US and the UK on 31 October 2011. US entities MF Global Holdings Ltd. and MF Global Finance USA Inc. filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Also on 31 October, the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") initiated the liquidation of MF Global, Inc. a jointly registered futures commission merchant and broker-dealer, under the Securities Investor Protection Act ("SIPA").
Today, HM Treasury announced the conclusion of discussions with Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (RBS), regarding their participation in the U.K.
The courts have been busy in recent months considering various schemes of arrangement and reconstructions, including the following 4 unusual and high-profile applications.
In the matter of Co-operative Bank plc
18 December 2013
Companies Court (David Richards J)
[2014] EWHC 4397 (Ch)