Germany needs more professional insolvency courts: this is the opinion of more than 90 per cent of the experts surveyed in the insolvency law analysis “InsO Survey 2018” which has now been presented by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the law firm Noerr.

This paper addresses the issues for international recognition of reconstruction and insolvency proceedings affecting international banks raised by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, and considers what the United Kingdom and the European Union and its member states could do to address the potential loss of recognition and cooperation, as well as possible wider international initiatives. The relation of this issue to the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services is also considered.

Brexit plays a part in an application by the Joint Administrators of Nortel Networks UK Limited and others to extend the Administrators' terms of office as uncertainty lies over what, if any recognition will be given to the Administrators by the courts of the EU Member States after 29 March 2019.

Financial Regulation Weekly Bulletin 22 February 2018 / Issue 950 Major UK and European regulatory developments of interest to banks, insurers and reinsurers, asset managers and other market participants Selected Headlines General FinTech innovation – FCA and CFTC sign cooperation arrangement 1.1 Using technology to achieve smarter regulatory reporting – FCA launches call for input 1.2 Brexit Implementation period – DExEU publishes draft text for discussion 5.1 The impact of Brexit on wholesale financial services contracts – AFME publishes FAQs 6.1 Banking and Finance Implications of FinTec

2018 will be a year of change, challenges and opportunities for banks and financial services providers.

On February 28 last the European Commission published the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (“EU”).

The main themes to be considered by those in the financial services industry in 2018 will include increased regulation, protection of data, the push for transparency from Europe along with the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit. We have flagged some key dates to watch out for in the upcoming year.

FINANCE YEAR REVIEW 2017

The biggest news for the loan market in 2017 was the announcement by Andrew Bailey of the FCA that LIBOR may cease to exist beyond 2021. In this briefing, we discuss this and other key legal developments in banking from 2017, and also highlight a few issues to look out for in 2018 and beyond.

1. Key Banking Developments in 2017

2 FEBRUARY 2018

London

Contents

1. Key Banking Developments in 2017

1

The potential discontinuation of LIBOR

Business Finance and Restructuring What will 2018 hold? Horizon scanning for 2018 Legal Outlook Legislative changes Reform of English corporate insolvency framework The Insolvency Service has yet to react to responses to its consultation in mid-2016 on significant reforms designed to improve the restructuring tools available to companies.1 We had expected the government to push this forward in 2017, but the reforms appear to have stalled and the issue was sadly missing from the Queen’s Speech.

Summer is over and Autumn is truly upon us bringing back many of the winds that seemed die down in the golden summer of Macron. Eurosceptic parties have made electoral gains in Germany and in Austria and the same has now happened in the Czech Republic. The hope that Macron and Merkel could push forward a strong integrationist agenda have faded somewhat as the German liberal party (and possibly the German Supreme Court) fight against common budgets and fiscal transfers.