Search results for

Take one global rate-fixing probe. Add in an escalating money laundering scandal, an embarrassing swap mis-selling settlement, and three costly US trading glitches. Sprinkle with an investing public already antagonised by today's 'bankster' culture and garnish with outraged politicians at your discretion.

When Cyprus became independent in 1960 it retained the colonial-era Limitation of Actions Law, which prescribed the time limits within which claims must be brought before a court. The Limitations Law was suspended in 1964 following inter-communal disturbances. An attempt to reinstate it was made in 2002 with the enactment of Law 110(I) of 2002, which provided that the Limitations Law would re-enter into force with effect from June 1 2005. However, the entry into force of the 2002 Law was postponed by a succession of laws, each temporarily extending the suspension. The last of these, passed in December 2011, extended the suspension until June 30 2012.

During the past 10 years, Honduras has made great progress in the protection of financial users' rights. One of the most significant advances was the enactment on February 3 2010 of the Rules for Strengthening the Financial Transparency, Culture and Customer Care for Financial Users in Supervised Financial Institutions (Resolution 223/26-01-2010) (the Transparency Rules) which were later amended by the Resolution GE 1631/12-09-2011 and supplemented by Resolution GE 1632/12-09-2011 (the Supplementary Rules) effective as of October 8 2011.

Janice Roepnarain Since the beginning of 2012 there have been several court cases involving the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), one of the Dutch financial markets supervisors, and offerors of so-called flash loans. These are short-term loans to consumers for small amounts of money, whereby the money is transferred to the consumers on the same day that the request for the loan is made, or within just a few days. The reason behind the greater focus of the AFM on offerors of flash loans is that the Act on Financial Supervision (AFS) was amended due to the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive (2008/48/EC) in May 2011. The most important amendment is that before the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive, all credit which was repayable within three months fell outside the scope of the AFS. After the implementation of the Directive, only credit which has to be repaid by a consumer within three months and whereby the costs payable by the consumer are insignificant fall outside the scope of the AFS. Due to this amendment, many offerors of credit to consumers who previously were not regulated are now obliged to obtain a licence from the AFM. Recent case law shows that offerors of flash loans and the AFM often disagree on whether the activities concerned qualify as the offering of credit, or which costs should be considered to be part of the costs of the credit. In the Consumer Credit Directive 'total cost of the credit to the consumer' means, in short, all costs and fees which the consumer is required to pay in connection with the credit agreement, except for notarial costs. Furthermore, costs in respect of ancillary services relating to the credit agreement are also included if, in addition, the conclusion of a service contract is compulsory in order to obtain the credit or to obtain it on the terms and conditions marketed.

Kai Hoshino The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (FIEA) and the relevant cabinet office ordinance were amended, effective as of April 1 2012, to expand the English-language Disclosure Rules. Under the amended Rules, foreign companies may file both primary and continuous disclosure documents in English, together with limited Japanese translations and certain defined supplementary documents. The amended Rules are expected to substantially reduce the burden of Japanese-language disclosure obligations on foreign issuers. In Japan, subject to certain exceptions, companies that offer shares, stock acquisition rights, bonds and certain other financial instruments to the public are required to file a Securities Registration Statement with the Japanese authorities. Upon doing so, the company will become subject to the continuous disclosure regime, which includes the filing of a number of FIEA documents: an annual securities report, a semi-annual report or quarterly reports, and extraordinary reports. Those foreign companies that elect to satisfy all disclosure obligations in Japanese generally prepare the FIEA documents by translating into Japanese the disclosure documents submitted by such company in its home jurisdiction. This can be very onerous as it involves the translation of, among other items, the description of the company's business, its risk factors, the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) and the company's financial statements, together with the accompanying notes, from such company's disclosure documents into Japanese.

The August pricing of a dual-tranche $300 million bond offering by Mexican wind farms Oaxaca II and IV set a precedent for renewable energy financing in the region. Here’s why

Rafael Berckholtz Velarde The rapid economic growth of Colombia and Peru in the past years – the new tigers of South America – as recently described by the Wall Street Journal, combined with Chile, the more mature regional tiger, have sparked an emerging movement towards developing a regional capital market. The recent economic boom, especially in Colombia and Peru, a hunger for new capital to fund growth plans, and pension funds in these three countries with cash to invest have created the right conditions to foster what could be a powerful regional capital market force. Peru, Chile and Colombia share some of the same industries and are familiar with each other's economic histories; a path towards a regional market thus makes economic sense. Issuers and investment banks are increasingly eyeing the three countries as a relevant market to raise capital. Local banks are beginning to think regionally. For instance, in 2011, Banco de Crédito del Perú acquired a 51% controlling stake in Correval and a 60.6% interest in the Chilean brokerage house IM Trust, forging ahead towards developing a regional investment bank. Similarly, in 2011, Munita Cruzat & Claro, a Chilean financial services company, acquired an interest in Seminario & Cía SAB, one of the largest brokers operating in the Lima Stock Exchange. These recent movements suggest that there are vast opportunities to exploit capital and investments regionally.

Malaysia's Securities Commission recently issued a new Code on Corporate Governance 2012 (MCCG 2012) in an attempt to enhance and further reform the country's corporate governance landscape. The MCCG 2012 will supersede the 2007 Code on Corporate Governance when it takes effect on December 31 2012.

In overall shariah governance structure for Islamic financial institutions (IFIs), shariah audit occupies the most critical place. It completes the cycle of shariah compliance for an IFI, as it reveals the level of an IFI's compliance with the principles of shariah in all its operations.

The UK Takeover Panel has published a consultation paper on new proposals to extend the jurisdiction of the UK Takeover Code to cover all public companies with registered offices in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. If brought in, the plans are set to have a wide impact.