First securitised debt case?

The court has perhaps for the first time looked at securitised debt.  The court upheld the right of the security trustee to exercise an option to receive cash instead of the cashflow from the receivables.  The case is an example of a Charge-holder intervening in charged property before security became enforceable.
Citibank NA v MBIA Assurance SA [...]

Read Full Post »

World-wide freezing order

A world-wide freezing order has been granted in relation to a case in which a non-English & Welsh court judgment was issued.  In Banco Nacional de Comercia Exterior SNC v Empresa de Telecommunicationes de Cuba SA, the court considered whether it had jurisdiction to grant an order in relation to a registered foreign judgment and [...]

Read Full Post »

House of Lords appeal reform – and no more wigs

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 provides for the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords to be abolished and a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to be established.  The new Court is due to begin work in October 2009. The government has published a consultation on the draft Supreme Court rules.
This downward trend [...]

Read Full Post »

New money laundering regulations

The Treasury have published for consultation the draft Money Laundering Regulations 2007, which are to implement the Third Money Laundering Directive. The regulations are designed to ensure the UK response to money laundering at home and abroad is effective, proportionate and engages with all key stakeholders. The directive is to be implemented by 15 December [...]

Read Full Post »

Dormant bank accounts

Treasury enquiry into unclaimed assets within the financial system:
The Treasury Select Committee has decided to undertake an inquiry into unclaimed assets within the financial system. The Committee is particularly interested in receiving written evidence on:

The definition, identification and collection of unclaimed assets;
The distribution and use of unclaimed assets; and
The possible relevance of schemes in [...]

Read Full Post »

Small business banking competition

The FT reports (full article for FT.com subscribers) that it is unlikely price controls on small business banking will be scrapped.  The OFT has been reviewing whether competition in business banking has improved since the controls were imposed by the Competition commission four years ago.

Read Full Post »

Rome 1 – “damaging” changes to contract law

The EU has been rumbling on for some time now about changing the 1980 Rome Convention (“Rome 1″).  There is an article in the FT today 22 January that explains the CBI’s resistance to the changes on the grounds that the law on where contracts take place will become less, not more, clear.  In particular, [...]

Read Full Post »

Funding leveraged acquisitions

There is a good article ”Interim loan agreements: a guide for commitment-phobes” in  BJIBFL Dec 2006. It’s by David Campbell at A&O. “When lenders commit to funding a leveraged acquisition, they are often asked to sign an interim loan agreement along with the commitment letter and term sheet. This article explores why interim loan [...]

Read Full Post »

Financial Collateral Arrangements – an evaluation

The Directive on financial collateral arrangements might be extended to include credit claims as eligible collateral. The European Commission has published a report (20 December 2006) on the Directive which applies to cash and financial instruments (securities) and concluded that the Directive was working well generally. Some countries have already extended the law at a national [...]

Read Full Post »

Intermediated Securities

Intermediated Securities – securities held through clearing systems, brokers and other intermediaries – are the life-blood of international finance. They provide collateral for the great majority of structured transactions and for practically all activity in derivatives, as well as supporting much of the more mature markets. However, the legal basis of ownership of securities and [...]

Read Full Post »