A recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States may make it easier for borrowers to claim discrimination when denied a loan. In late June 2015, the Court addressed whether lawsuits brought under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”)[1] required a plaintiff to show that the defendant intentionally discriminated against him or her. The Court held that the FHA does not require that ...
The Supreme Court this past week denied certiorari in United States ex rel. Schneider v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., an appeal from a D.C. Circuit case affirming the district court’s dismissal of a qui tam FCA action. See No. 19-678, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 2079 (Apr. 6, 2020). In so doing, the Court declined to address the emerging circuit split over the extent of the government’s dismissal power in qui tam cases ...
On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court resolved a split between the Second, Third, Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuit, and the Seventh and Eleventh Circuit in its ruling inMerit Management Group, L.P. v. FTI Consulting, Inc. (“Merit Management”)583 U. S. ____ (U.S. Feb. 27, 2018) ...
Activists and government leaders are sounding the death knell for our planet unless something is done about climate change. But while sustainability is important, sustainability reporting may not be the answer. In a headline-hogging speech at the UN last month, 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg berated politicians and business people for doing too little to arrest climate change, ruining the globe for future generations. High-profile scandals back up her claim ...
The 50th Earth Day has passed this year under the shadow of a global pandemic, where the immediacy of human health has eclipsed, for now, the focus on the long-term health of the planet and humanity’s place within it that had begun to preoccupy businesses and investors. From a corporate governance perspective, that is reasonable, as risks to short-term survival take precedence over the long-term planning and risk mitigation demanded by more epochal trends like climate change ...
Mamo TCV Advocates shall be organising a series of webinars spanning over one week to provide insights on sustainable finance and related regulatory compliance obligations. The scope of these webinars is to highlight how the sustainability-related requirements are impacting the financial services sector from a regulatory standpoint. During the week, Mamo TCV Advocates will also be discussing employment and corporate social responsibility matters ...
Registrations for the Mamo TCV Advocates Sustainable Finance Week being held between the 24th and 28th October 2022 are now open. Please click here for the programme of events ...
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”) has published its Guidance for CIS on measures to counter the risk of greenwashing (“Guidance”) which applies to all collective investment schemes which are authorised or registered under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 and to those responsible for preparing the prospectuses and other marketing materials of such schemes ...
A huge number of global and national initiatives have been made to appropriately handle sustainability challenges, including the European Green Deal and the relating Taxonomy. Both mandatory regulations and voluntary principles have been (and will continue to be) initiated and implemented, to ensure or encourage that ESG considerations also are taken into account with respect to financing ...
IN THIS ARTICLE, GOH HUI WEN LOOKS AT GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS IN THE ASEAN REGION. The investment scene in the ASEAN region has been undergoing a transformational change in recent years as it pivots towards a green and sustainable path of development[1]. Demand for sustainable investment opportunities in ASEAN is set to bloom within the next two decades, with the investment opportunity estimated to be worth a whopping USD3 trillion from 2016 to 2030[2] ...
Background Overseas investors’ participation in the China Inter-bank Bond Market (CIBM) has been steadily increasing in recent years due to the implementation of various opening-up regimes that allow access to the CIBM, such as the CIBM Direct, Bond Connect and QFI regimes, and the inclusion of China bonds in major international indices. At the end of 2021, overseas investors held RMB bonds of RMB 4 trillion, accounting for about 3.5% of the total market size of the CIBM ...
On April 16, 2012 the Swedish government submitted the 2012 spring budget to parliament. On the same day, the Ministry of Finance released a memorandum with proposed changes to tax legislation, which was sent for consideration. It is proposed that most of the changes come into effect on January 1, 2013. Below you will find a short summary of the key changes in the memorandum ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) has again earned outstanding rankings in IFLR1000 Banking and Finance 2022, the guide to the world’s leading financial and corporate law firms. The firm was cited in the following categories: Banking, Tier 1Project Finance, Tier 1 IFLR1000 remains the only international legal market research brand focused on ranking law firms and lawyers on the basis of financial and corporate transactional work ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (the Philippine Central Bank) has issued two new circulars that will be of interest to companies engaged in remittance services, e-money, digital currency, and other fintech businesses. Both circulars amend portions of the BSP Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions. BSP Circular No ...
SEC Issues Regulations to Implement Financial Consumer Protection Act On 25 April 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued Memorandum Circular No. 5, series of 2023 and adopted the SEC Rules and Regulations of the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act of 2022 ("SEC FCPA IRR") to implement Republic Act No. 11765 (the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act ("FCPA") ...
SyCipLaw's Banking, Finance & Securities Department's Banking Bulletin for May 2023 features the latest issuances from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines), which includes the adoption of the ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible (SRF) standards, and the clarifications made by BSP on what is considered excluded from the Real Estate Loan Limit and Stress Test ...
On June 9, 2023, the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued Circular No. 1174, amending the implementing regulations of the mandatory agricultural, fisheries and rural development financing contemplated by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act (Republic Act No. 11901 or the “Agri-Agra Reform Credit Actâ€). The implementing regulations were previously set out in BSP Circular No. 1159 dated November 4, 2022 ...
At the end of last week, the FT published a guest article on quantum computing. For those unfamiliar with quantum computing, it is the technology that will be capable of harnessing the powers of quantum mechanics to solve problems which are too complex for ‘classical’ computers (the computers of today). Classical computing employs streams of electrical impulses to encode information: an electrical impulse may be only 1 or 0 (i.e. on or off) – a classical 'bit’ ...
Under the Rules Governing Offshore Funds of August 2005, private placement of offshore funds may only be offered to: a) banks, bills companies, securities companies, trust companies, insurance companies, financial holding companies or other legal entities or organisation approved by the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC); b) not more than 35 “private investors” ...
The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (“FSC”) on 2 August 2005 promulgated new rules governing the offering of overseas funds in Taiwan (the “New Rules”). Please refer to our Client Update by email which was issued in September 2005 and posted on our website: www.deacons.com.hk for our Executive Summary on the New Rules. Deacons has held a client seminar on the subject in September and we had the honour of Mr. Gordon Hsin, senior director of SITCA presiding ...
Real estate 1. Please briefly state what is considered real estate in your jurisdiction. What are the most common forms of security granted over it? How are they created and how are they perfected (that is, made valid and enforceable)?Under Romanian law, real estate (generally known as immovable property) covers land, buildings and those movable assets attached to land or buildings as fixtures ...
The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has already caused, and will continue to cause, significant liquidity problems for some businesses. Companies whose financial difficulties threaten their very existence will have to restructure in order to avoid bankruptcy, either by availing themselves of the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act1 (the "CCAA") or by using the proposal mechanism of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act2 (the "BIA") ...
Washington communities have a new tool to drive economic development: tax increment financing. Sometimes called “TIF,” this funding method allows local governments to self-finance public improvements that encourage development without imposing new taxes. The 2021 Washington legislature passed a TIF program and Governor Inslee signed it into law on Monday, May 10, 2021 ...
Congress recently enacted comprehensive tax reform (the “Act”). This memorandum highlights some of the provisions of the Act that are particularly relevant to U.S. multinational groups, with a focus on the provisions relating to income associated with intangible property, as defined for applicable U.S. federal income tax purposes. New Corporate Tax Rate The Act significantly changes the U.S ...
