Top stories | primers | reports (will need pinning)
Top stories | primers | reports (will need pinning)
Government opens consultation on UK merger control measures, with a March 31 deadline, aiming for faster, clearer, and more predictable competition regulation
New hires were made across the PE, M&A, finance, and corporate practices in London, Newcastle, New York and Singapore
Adeniyi Duale, a founding partner at Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe, discusses trends in Nigeria’s capital markets, opportunities in financial services and energy sectors, and how AI sharpens efficiency
AI in big law
The legal landscape is evolving rapidly, and at the forefront of this transformation is artificial intelligence
Banking
Daniela Cohen, partner in the firm’s debt finance team, explores the defining trends in structured finance for 2026, the ongoing value AI is set to deliver, and the sports sector’s role as a driver of PE activity
The effective date of the final rule for investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers has been moved to January 1 2028
New hires were made across PE, M&A, capital markets and finance practices in key hubs including Milan, New York and London
As the full set of agency leadership appointed by President Trump is now confirmed and in seat, 2026 will be a busy and consequential year for financial regulatory policy
M&A
Rafique Bachour, who spent nearly 30 years at Freshfields, joins Skadden’s Belgian office amid heightened global regulatory scrutiny
Partners at JunHe, Morrison Foerster and White & Case discuss the forces that shaped dealmaking across China, Japan and Hong Kong this year
A vote to be held in 2026 could create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a $3.6bn giant with 3,100 lawyers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific
New hires and promotions were made across finance, PE and M&A practices in London, Singapore, New York and Santiago
Capital Markets
The tie-up will allow Dentons to better position itself to meet clients’ needs across Greater China, the firm said
Exclusive IFLR data reveals a surge in Sub-Saharan Africa’s legal market in 2025, with banking and capital markets driving upgrades across South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya
Following Royal Assent granted this week, the UK now recognises digital assets as personal property under the new law
New hires and promotions were made across the corporate, finance and infrastructure practices in key markets, including Riyadh, New York, London and Milan
ESG
VdA partner Assunção Cristas, a winner of last year’s Women in Business Law Awards, discusses shaping sustainability through law and innovation
Sustainability-linked and transition loans provide practical pathways for decarbonisation in emerging markets’ hard-to-abate sectors
HM Treasury confirmed this week that cryptoassets businesses will be backed by a regime, and the FCA is now seeking feedback on crypto rules
The deal reached this week limits stricter sustainability rules to only the largest companies operating in the EU
IFLR Awards - shared module
IFLR recognises the region’s most legally innovative cross-border transactions, as well as the law firms, in-house teams, and individual lawyers who set the benchmark over the past year.
Research for the third annual IFLR Africa awards has begun – submit your entries by December 5
More than 350 lawyers gathered in Dubai to celebrate another year of legal innovation and collaboration across the Middle East
The shortlist for the 2025 Middle East awards is revealed and winners will be announced in Dubai on October 22
Editorial board
IFLR’s editorial board features senior financial legal practitioners, both in-house and private practice, from around the world. Through their expertise, board members support our editorial coverage with regular feedback, insight and contributed articles.
Primers - shared module
IFLR's latest primer looks at the Basel Committee’s new voluntary guidelines for climate risk disclosures and their global implications
While the Hong Kong and US stablecoin regimes represent important steps forward, it remains to be seen how these frameworks will evolve in practice
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the challenges associated with the use of AI in capital markets in financial products and services
IFLR’s latest primer looks at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s proposal to implement the Basel Committee’s capital standards for banks’ cryptoasset exposures
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the Financial Stability Board’s recent report on the lessons learned about depositor behaviour, interest rate risk and liquidity risk during the 2023 banking turmoil
IFLR’s latest primer explores the Basel Committee's latest paper on the risks and mitigants of permissionless blockchains for the banking sector
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the CFTC’s recent listing guidelines for VCC derivatives and how they seek to enhance market integrity, transparency, and liquidity
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look the SEC’s recent decision to approve proposals by several US securities exchanges to list spot ether exchange traded funds
Law firms are providing safe harbours for investment firms worried about straying across the advice boundary and helping them prepare them for changes in the future
IFLR’s latest primer takes a look at the global and local trends around the regulation of stablecoins and their issuers
Features | Special Focus | Opinions
Features | Special Focus | Opinions
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Yoon & Yang chief: strong pool of talent a ‘key building block’
Hee Woong Yoon, managing partner at Yoon & Yang, reveals key growth opportunities in corporate finance and M&A for the firm as he settles into his new role -
Linklaters: ‘Regulators are becoming more sophisticated in their supervision’
Carl Fernandes, global head of Linklaters’ financial regulation group, outlines the firm’s opportunities in the financial sector, particularly in Europe and the US -
Argentine law firm eyes debt market opportunities in volatile market
TCA Tanoira Cassagne’s founding partner Alexia Rosenthal explains how the firm is helping clients access capital in a challenging environment
Sponsored
Sponsored
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Sponsored by HomburgerHomburger lawyers René Bösch, Benjamin Leisinger and Pierina Janett-Seiler summarise the new Swiss prospectus regime, with a special focus on exchange offers and consent solicitations -
Sponsored by JunHeIn 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the Circular on Promoting the Reform of the Filing and Registration Regime for Issuance of Foreign Debt by Enterprises, under which, both issuance of bonds and borrowing of mid-and-long term commercial loans overseas by PRC enterprises and/or their offshore subsidiaries and branches (collectively, the debtors) are subject to a prior filing and registration with NDRC (foreign debt filing). Over the past five years, the debtors as applicants encountered a lot of issues with regard to the foreign debt filing due to the ambiguity in definitions, scope and standards thereof. As a result, the NDRC issued detailed application guidance including 25 FAQs and respective answers in February 2020, aiming to make these issues clear.
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Sponsored by Elias Neocleous & CoLibor [London interbank offered rate] is the primary benchmark, along with Euribor, for short-term interest rates around the world. Libor rates are calculated for five currencies and seven borrowing periods, ranging from overnight to one year, and are published each business day. Libor is based on submissions provided by a selection of large international panel banks. These submissions are intended to reflect the interest rate at which banks could lend one another unsecured funds. Many financial institutions, mortgage lenders, and credit card agencies set their own rates based on this. However, in 2017, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that after 2021 it would no longer require the panel banks to submit the rates needed to calculate Libor. Libor will no longer be published after the end of 2021, and market participants are urged to transition to alternative reference rates (ARRs).
