Feature

The transaction volume of cryptoassets and associated products has witnessed rapid expansion, with recent reports indicating that the cumulative market value for cryptocurrencies alone has now exceeded $3trn. This growth has, in turn, increased the likelihood of both cryptoasset-related businesses (such as exchanges and custodian wallet providers) entering into formal insolvency processes, and cryptoassets featuring within insolvency proceedings. Accordingly, this article considers how cryptoassets are treated within English insolvency law, focusing on their classification as property, jurisdictional issues arising from their decentralised nature, the enforcement of security interests, and the challenges of valuation and distribution.

This article considers the judgment of Miles J in Shokrollah-Babaee v EFG Private Bank Limited  [2023] EWHC 3270 (Ch), how it affects the relationship between mortgagees, valuers and mortgagors (to the extent that it can fairly be described as a relationship at all) and its wider impact.

Everything is electronic nowadays. Globalisation, technology and Covid have all played a significant part in driving legal changes that mean it is rare not to be able to sign documents, open bank accounts or indeed do most things using just a keyboard or a click. But can established processes help to mitigate the risks of more newly permitted e-signatures? This article looks at how anti-money laundering identity verification processes can help with verification of document signatories.

When the economic landscape changes, people often look to wriggle out of their financial commitments. Just such a change occurred in 2020, when HMRC’s status as a preferential creditor of insolvent companies was restored.

In this article, Annabel Akintomide considers the approaches of different jurisdictions to the legal recognition and enforceability of electronic signatures and the key themes that emerge.

In this article the authors examine the key features of high yield bridge loan documentation and latest trends in the leveraged buyout market.

In this article the authors consider how the increasing prominence of sustainability linked loans has afforded new opportunities for banks to take on the role of sustainability co-ordinator and take a closer look at what this role entails.

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s rules (PRA Rules) implementing the remaining Basel III standards in the UK, to highlight any key deviations from the underlying Basel III standards and the equivalent EU CRR2 regime, and to discuss potential challenges that these deviations might create for banking groups. In addition, this article includes responses to frequently asked questions in relation to the above.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently updated its guidance for Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in October 2021 including on its Recommendation 16 that certain transfers of cryptoassets must be accompanied with identifiable originator and beneficiary information. The application of Recommendation 16 to VASPs has caused controversy, as it is regarded as being very difficult to comply with by the industry. This article explores whether the proposed implementation of the Travel Rule in the UK addresses any of the commonly cited practical difficulties with compliance (which are particularly pronounced for unregulated firms or start-ups that may be unaccustomed to being scrutinised in this way) in light of the most recent guidance.

In this article, Richard Salter QC provides an update to his 2017 article on the “purview doctrine”, which offered practical pointers to those called upon to document variations in syndicated lending transactions secured by a guarantee.