Recent Articles

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  07.06.2023

  Luxembourg

  ES­As put for­ward com­mon un­der­stand­ing of gre­en­wash­ing

  BackgroundAs part of its aspiration that supervisors play an essential role in identifying, preventing, investigating, sanctioning, and remediating greenwashing, the European Commission (EC) has issued a request for input from the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) on greenwashing risks and supervision of sustainable finance policies (the EC Request).In the context of the EC Request, the ESAs launched a joint call for evidence (CfE) at the end of the year 2022 to gather input from stakeholders on the understanding of greenwashing and examples of greenwashing behaviours on the market.On...

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  07.06.2023

  South Africa

  The Fin­an­cial In­tel­li­gence Centre Act re­deems it­self!

  Combating and criminalising money laundering activities and financial acts of terrorism is an important feature of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001 ("FICA") along with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act No. 121 of 1998. As such, ensuring that FICA is effective in curbing the scourge of money laundering activities is critical because money laundering activities and terrorist financing pose a risk to businesses daily. South Africa was greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") because it was found that there were numerous weaknesses in South Africa’s anti-money...

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  07.06.2023

  Switzerland

  Com­pet­i­tion law as­pects of ESG ini­ti­at­ives in the life sci­ences & health­care sec­tor

  I. IntroductionGlobally and in the EU, the initiatives to promote ESG developments are increasing. However, companies are still required to comply with competition law regulations and need more clarity on the assessment of sustainability objectives in agreements.II. ESG developments and competition law issuesInternationally, UN Agenda 2030 set 17 Sustainable Development Goals to promote sustainability, peace and prosperity, and to protect the earth. Additionally, in December 2020, the OECD's Competition Committee found during its special hearing on sustainability and competition law in its 134th...

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  07.06.2023

  South Africa

  Cor­por­a­tion for De­pos­it In­sur­ance aka CoDI: A new dawn or dusk in fin­an­cial se­cur­ity?

  The true test of CoDI's success will lie in its ability to protect a wide range of depositors. A recent collapse of several banks has exposed the fragility of the global banking system and spurred urgent discussions around securing depositors' funds. In response to this financial turbulence, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has launched the Corporation for Deposit Insurance (CoDI), offering somewhat of a lifeline to depositors in South Africa. This article delves into the general factors behind recent bank failures, the details of CoDI, and whether this new financial safety net can prevent...

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  06.06.2023

  England and Wales

  Lim­it­a­tion peri­ods in fraud claims: Court of Ap­peal cla­ri­fic­a­tion

  IntroductionThe Court of Appeal (“CA”) has recently considered the application of s.32(1)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980 (“LA 1980”) which provides that where an action is based on the fraud of a defendant the limitation period does not begin to run until the claimant has discovered, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered, the fraud. This means that in a claim based on the tort of deceit, where the limitation period is 6 years, the claimant has 6 years from discovery of the fraud, or from when the fraud could have been discovered with reasonable diligence, to...

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  06.06.2023

  United Kingdom

  In­terest Cov­er Ra­tio De­fault?

  Higher global interest rates are continuing to add pressure on borrowers’ ability to comply with interest cover financial covenants and service the interest on their outstanding debt.In this finance briefing we consider the key initial steps and issues for lenders and borrowers facing a potential default of interest cover financial covenant in a real estate finance investment loan agreement.We discuss the legal and practical considerations involved with calculating historic and projected interest cover ratios, possible cure rights and the initial options potentially available for lenders...

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