In Practice

What are “skilled person reviews” and why are they relevant?

This In Practice article sets out what a skilled person report is, what a skilled person report can be commissioned for, what the consequences are for an entity in practice and considers how often skilled person reports are commissioned by the regulators.

Brexit update: implications for securitisations

The uncertainties of Brexit persist despite the UK’s formal withdrawal from the EU in January 2020. Market participants need to continue with their preparations and their engagement with regulators. Regulators and politicians will ultimately determine how the creation of a dual regulatory regime across the EU and the UK will impact the securitisation markets beyond 2020.

At home and away: UK insolvency jurisdiction

In this In Practice article the authors focus on the practical considerations when commencing insolvency proceedings in the UK and the new complexities both at home and away, applicable from the start of 2021.

Operative and material? Ten years later: setting aside a judgment for fraud

In Balber Kaur Takhar v Gracefield Developments,¹ Steven Gasztowicz QC, sitting in the High Court as a deputy High Court judge, set aside a judgment issued ten years earlier on the basis it had been procured by fraud. The court considered the correct test to apply when setting aside a judgment for fraud – which ultimately turns on whether the fraud is operative and material.

Enforcing MAC clauses in financing agreements: a double-edged sword

Impact of the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 on securitisation transactions

In this In Practice article, the author discusses the key implications of the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020 (CIGA) for securitisation transactions.

A SIPP from the devil’s cup: Adams v Options UK Personal Pensions appeal

In this In Practice article, the authors consider the Court of Appeal decision in Adams v Options UK Personal Pensions¹ in which a regulated firm was found liable because its unregulated introducer “encouraged” clients to enter investments.

The UK’s National Security and Investment Bill: implications for loan financings and related collateral

The UK’s new National Security and Investment Bill will create a new, standalone screening regime allowing the government to review acquisitions of “control” of legal entities and assets and to prohibit such acquisitions or impose remedies on them, if it identifies national security concerns. The new regime is expected to enter force in Summer/Autumn 2021. The government’s draft Statement of Policy Intent accompanying the Bill confirms that, “although loans are not exempt from scrutiny, the overwhelming majority of these are expected to pose no national security concerns, including within the core areas. In the rare circumstances where they do pose concerns, the Secretary of State generally only expects to intervene when an actual acquisition of control will take place (e.g. a lender seizing collateral)”. This In Practice article provides a broad summary of the main features of the new national security screening regime and highlights how loans and related security can be impacted.

Sanctions compliance considerations for financial institutions post-Brexit

Following the end of the transition period after the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK’s autonomous sanctions regime (under the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018)) came into force on 31 December 2020. This regime is largely similar to the EU sanctions regime, but there are several differences which may have implications for financial institutions’ sanctions compliance programmes.

Regulatory divergence after Brexit: laying the foundations for a new UK regime

On 24 December 2020, the UK and EU finally reached agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal. As expected, and as acknowledged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday 27 December,¹ that agreement contains very limited provision for cross-border trade in financial services. On the same day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggested that the UK will now be able to “do things a bit differently” on financial services. This In Practice article briefly examines what that could mean for UK financial sector regulation in the near future and beyond.