2020 was a busy year for the legislator in relation to the Turkish Capital Markets. An amendment made in the Turkish Capital Markets Law (CML) at the beginning of 2020 introduced several elements, including a Security Agent, into Turkish law. And then the pandemic hit, making the trust factor in regard to assets even more crucial than it was before. In times of uncertainty, the Security Agent may be invited to play a greater role.
Albania: Financial Industry – A Revolution On Its Way
“Today, what we are doing, is modernizing the financial services industry, tearing down those antiquated laws, and granting banks significant new authority.” President Clinton’s quote is quite relevant nowadays in Albania, where a major overhaul of the financial system’s legal architecture is being implemented. Indeed, in just three weeks, the Albanian Parliament enacted four very important pieces of legislation: the Law on Payment Services, the Law on Capital Markets, the Law on Collective Investment Undertakings, and the Law on Financial Markets Based on Distributed Ledgers Technology.
Czech Republic: Digital Revolution in Czechia Being Driven by Banks
On January 1, 2021, Act No. 49/2020 Coll. – commonly known as the BankID Act – will enter into force. This new legislation has the potential to bring a significant change to the way Czechs operate on the Internet and to promote further digitalization in both the public and private sectors.
Possible Challenges on the Hungarian Restructuring and Insolvency Market in 2021
Looking at the volume of non-performing loans in the balance sheets of the Hungarian banks, it is possible to believe that the situation has never been better. In fact, however, this is primarily due to the general moratorium introduced by the Hungarian government in March 2020, which protected both companies and consumers against insolvency and non-payment. Now, eight months later, financial institutions are preparing for a potentially massive wave of bankruptcies, as they already reserved HUF 250 billion in the first half of this year.
Loan Moratoria in Romania During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, and the response of the Banking & Finance sector was essential in dealing with the economic consequences of the crisis.
North Macedonian Lenders’ Rights on Borrowers’ Rescue, Reorganization, and Insolvency
The terms of a loan agreement dictate the circumstances in which a lender can enforce its loan, guarantee, or security interest. In North Macedonia, a lender can usually demand loan acceleration (repayment before a scheduled maturity date) if the borrower defaults under the loan agreement. Security documents state when the lender can enforce the security, usually following a default under the loan agreement or the lender’s demand for repayment when due. A lender can generally demand payment under a guarantee as soon as the borrower fails to pay any guaranteed obligation when due. However, the claim under a guarantee will be limited to the overdue amount. A lender will therefore often need to accelerate the loan before it can make a full claim against a guarantor. Typically, under the finance and the security documents, lenders have the right to accelerate and enforce loans when borrowers become insolvent.
Cash Pooling in Russia – To Loan or Not to Loan?
Cash pooling is a convenient tool for optimizing cash management within a group of companies, but its popularity in Russia is limited. One of the reasons for this is the lack of unified legislation on cash pooling. In fact, it is subject to a complex regulatory landscape of civil, tax, banking, currency control, and insolvency law. One resulting difficulty is qualifying the very nature of the cash pooling arrangements. At first glance this may appear a purely academic problem, but in practice it has far-reaching practical implications.
Serbia: Slow but Steady
The beginning of Q4 in Serbia is marked by the delayed formation of the new Government. Not much is expected to change in the political course as the ruling progressive party has strengthened its position and the Government will be led by the same Prime Minister. This means continuity and stability, although the new-old Government will not have an easy task, considering global developments with the pandemic.
Slovenia: Will the COVID-19 State Guarantee Scheme Start Functioning Shortly?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Slovenia swiftly introduced certain measures in the field of banking with the goals of promoting the liquidity of Slovenian businesses and stimulating the banks to support the country’s economic recovery. Such measures included mandatorily available 12-month moratoria on bank loans (further supported by a smaller-sized EUR 200 million state guarantee scheme for the moratoria-affected amounts), and a larger-scale EUR 2 billion state guarantee scheme for certain new bank loans. However, such measures proved less popular that expected.
Poland: Polish Restructuring Response to Address Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought significant uncertainty to the market. In the wake of this highly contagious virus, authorities have issued unprecedented regulations and restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease, accompanied by measures providing help to businesses seeing their economic activities curtailed or suspended. These measures were primarily focused on providing liquidity to the market, but some introduced interesting changes to Polish restructuring law.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Parallel Debt Concept Under the Local Legal Framework
Under Bosnia and Herzegovina law, a pledge can be granted solely to a creditor of a claim. This hampers the creation of effective security for securing syndicated facilities (e.g., loans provided to debtor by more than one lender). In practice, this is solved by creating a “parallel debt structure” and appointing a security agent who holds pledges in favor of all lenders. Despite its broad use, this structure has not been tested before local courts. Thus, questions about its validity remain unsettled.
A Snapshot View of Montenegro’s Financial Sector
The economy of Montenegro was severely impacted by the breakup of Yugoslavia into its constituent parts. In order to jump start its economy, calculated and efficient measures had to be undertaken. One of these measures was selecting a stable foreign currency as its own: first the Deutschmark (which was used in parallel with the Yugoslav dinar from 1999 to 2000), then, later, the Euro. This paved the path for economic growth and the creation of an open market, more welcoming to investors.
Bulgaria: Recommended Benchmark Replacement Clauses for Credit Agreements with Bulgarian Borrowers
Since the cessation of the widely-used LIBOR benchmark has become a realistic prospect, due to the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s announcements that it will stop supporting this benchmark at the end of 2021, the question of what will take its place has become a hot topic for lenders and lawyers drafting credit agreements.
Expat On The Market: Julien Hansen of DLA Piper Moscow
An interview with Julien Hansen of DLA Piper Moscow.
Market Snapshot: How Investors in Russia Can Restore Corporate Control
“Loss of corporate control” encompasses various scenarios involving a person who controls a corporation ceasing to control its management bodies’ actions and decisions.
Market Snapshot: Sanctions-Related Amendments in Russian Commercial Procedure
As of June 19, 2020, Russian arbitrazh (commercial) courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear certain cases related to “anti-Russian” sanctions. Affected legal entities and individuals may also apply for anti-suit injunctions in an attempt to prevent counterparties from pursuing claims abroad. Recent cases show that these new entitlements are not as favorable as once thought.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Practicing Law in Crimea
Since the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the peninsula in the Black Sea has been a minefield of conflicting international claims and interests, putting lawyers trying to work there, boxed in by the threat of sanctions from the West and counterveiling pressure from Moscow, in an untenable position.
Guest Editorial: Trends in the Russian Legal Market
Several important trends have appeared on the Russian legal market since 2014, the first year of EU/US sanctions and Russian countersanctions: 1) the growth in the market share of domestic law firms; 2) the in-sourcing of a large amount of legal work inside corporate legal departments; 3) the entrance of nonconventional players (such as banks and mobile operators) into the legal services market; and 4) the increased focus of lawyers on IT solutions and efficiency.