Expert Analysis

• OFSI Proposals Signal Greater Focus On Enforcement Activity

  

  The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s proposed financial sanctions reforms, with risks of higher penalties and more stringent disclosure requirements for U.K. banks and companies, reflect the agency’s evolution into a more sophisticated and robust enforcement regulator, says Irene Polieri at Gibson Dunn.

• How Restructuring Reforms Will Streamline Insolvency Plans

  

  The recently published revised practice statement on schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans promises midmarket businesses efficiency without diluting safeguards, positioning schemes as inclusive tools rather than elite options, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.

• How 2nd Circ. Decision Extends CFTC's Extraterritorial Reach

  

  The Second Circuit recently concluded in U.S. v. Phillips that the Commodity Exchange Act extends to entirely foreign conduct if a victim of the conduct is based in the U.S., suggesting there is a heightened risk that foreign swap transactions will be susceptible to U.S. regulation when U.S. counterparties are involved, say attorneys at Skadden.

• EBA Proposals Signal Overhaul Of EU 3rd-Party Risk Rules

  

  The European Banking Authority’s plans to extend third-party risk controls to non-ICT services, which may be finalized by the end of the year, will place a significant compliance and operational burden on in-scope entities, which should not be underestimated, say lawyers at Travers Smith.

• FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.

• How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

  

  Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.

• What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

  

  If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.

• Role Of UK Investment Act Is Evolving In M&A Deals

  

  With merger and acquisition activity likely to increase in light of the government’s new defense industrial strategy, the role of the National Security and Investment Act will come into sharper focus, and its recent annual report confirms that scrutiny is intensifying, say lawyers at Kingsley Napley.

• What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

  

  Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.

• FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

  

  The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.

• EU Investment Reporting Rules Letup Signals Pragmatic Shift

  

  While investment companies remain subject to far-reaching disclosure obligations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, new guidance from the European Commission on reporting passive limited partner commitments represents a drastic simplification and burden reduction, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.

• SFO's 2-Year Transformation Signals Crackdown On Fraud

  

  Two years after Nick Ephgrave’s appointment as director of the Serious Fraud Office, the introduction of new corporate criminal offenses and strengthened investigative methods sends a clear message to corporations that the agency is delivering on its promise to be bolder and more proactive about tackling fraud, say lawyers at BCL Solicitors.

• What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

  

  Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

• How EU And UK Consumer Loan Protections Are Shifting

  

  As market evolution and digitalization motivate both the European Union and the U.K. to revamp consumer protections around lending, the potential for divergence between these rules will pose new challenges for cross-border consumer credit lenders, say lawyers at Skadden.

• EBA Guidance Shakes Up EU Securitization Market Practices

  

  Although the European Banking Authority’s recent questioning of the common use of conditional sale agreements to season assets when setting up securitizations has come as an unwelcome surprise, competent regulators are expected to follow the EBA guidance, even though as a Q&A response it is not legally binding, say lawyers at Debevoise.