Feature
813
Go to page
of
82
Payback time: when lending agreements are silent on key terms
This article considers a number of important principles relating to the repayment and prepayment of loans and how they are applied when a loan agreement fails expressly to cover them.
22 November 2025An Englishman in New York: English law considerations in New York law credit agreements
English lawyers are sometimes required to consider how to weave points of English law and practice into New York law governed credit agreements to cater for the inclusion of an English credit party in what would otherwise be a US centric transaction. In this article the author looks at the several broad areas to consider when undertaking such an exercise, some of which may have material ramifications if not adequately addressed.
22 November 2025Super senior Revolving Credit Facility: a legacy product?
Virtually all businesses need or want a line of credit to provide working capital to support daily operations and growth. Sponsors need to balance this operational need with the importance of moving quickly and execution certainty. As a result market practice has developed Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) Establishment provisions to mitigate this challenge by agreeing up-front mechanics for bringing in a working capital provider post-closing. The legal position is now well established for this approach. However, a commercial tension remains on the super senior RCF product itself so implementation variations and the unitranche/SSRCF structure that had become the norm are being tested.
22 November 2025Legislating virtue: unfair relationships in the Supreme Court
This article considers three aspects of the Supreme Court’s decision on unfair relationships in Hopcraft : (i) the new approach to undisclosed commissions; (ii) the approach to the commercial tie; and (iii) the nature of the remedy. In the light of that analysis, some comments are offered on the nature of the jurisdiction.
22 November 2025Tokenised Islamic finance products: Shariah compliance meets digital innovation
Tokenisation, the representation of ownership interests and contractual rights as digital tokens recorded on distributed ledgers, is increasingly intersecting with Islamic finance. The opportunity is practical; broader market access, faster settlement, improved transparency and audability, and the potential to hard-wire compliance into product lifecycles. The challenge is equally clear. Structures must continue to satisfy foundational Shariah requirements prohibiting interest, excessive uncertainty and speculation, even as issuance, custody and secondary trading migrate to digital rails. Across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, policymakers and market participants are moving beyond pilots to first-generation frameworks and transactions. Bahrain has adopted a stablecoin issuance and offering framework that embeds Shariah governance for Islamic-labelled products, while in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the new CBUAE law (Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025) provides a statutory pathway for "currency in digital form" as legal tender issued by the UAE Central Bank. This sts alongside the binding Higher Shariah Authority framework that adopts the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards for licensed Islamic Institutions. These measures signal a maturing regulatory environment for tokenised Islamic products.
For the purposes of this article, tokenised Islamic finance products refer to digital instruments structured to comply with the principles of Shariah and recorded on either permissionless public chains or permissioned networks operated by regulated institutions. They include security tokens, such as tokenised sukuk or equity interests; asset-backed tokens that evidence ownership in identifiable real assets or usufructs; and payment or utility tokens, including fiat-referenced stablecoins and bank deposit tokens used for settlement. Our primary focus is the GCC, in particular the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The analysis draws on standards and guidance issued by AAOIFI and the Islamic Financial Services Board. Where relevant, we refer to Federal Decree-Law No (6) of 2025 as “the new CBUAE law”.
Sustainable Finance: Newspeak
This article explores one of several issues potentially causing difficulties within the area known as “sustainable finance”. It focuses on the use of language and raises questions around the particular style of phrasing prevalent throughout the emerging taxonomies, sustainability reports, financial products and other materials which comprise the sustainable finance market. After briefly describing examples of these issues, this article advocates returning to language and grammar which is plain and simple.
22 November 2025Managing currency risk in emerging Asia investment: towards diversification
Nicola Yeomans undertakes a review of existing legal and financial mechanisms for managing currency risk in private capital investment into emerging Asia and assesses the 2024 ABAC recommendations for alternative mechanisms for managing the risk through a bond linked to a diversified basket of currencies.
25 October 2025The key characteristics of data centres in the US and Europe: an overview for those involved in financings – Part 1
In this first article of two, we seek to provide some background for those involved or interested in the financing of data centres, we describe what a data centre is, who uses it and some of its typical key features and hot topics. In a second article, we will consider how data centres are financed, both in the US and Europe, with a particular focus on the securitisation market.
25 October 2025Anti-suit injunctions outside contract: a new beginning
The decisions in Broad Idea and Wolverhampton provide a much-needed opportunity for the courts to re-shape the grounds on which they will restrain foreign proceedings outside those cases involving jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. The article offers an outline of a new account, which covers a large part of the field, founded on the applicant’s interest in the just and efficient resolution of their dispute and a principle of protecting the English natural forum from interference.
25 October 2025Data privacy in a retail CBDC system built on a public blockchain
This article examines the data protection and privacy concerns arising from the use of retail Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), specifically in the context of a system built on a public blockchain, such as Ethereum. It examines the extent to which the risks and concerns can be minimised by building in privacy-enhancing technologies in the governance framework of the retail CBDC as set out in documents and legislative provisions explaining the operation of the digital pound and the digital euro.
25 October 2025
Go to page
of
82
