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There have been many large non-performing loan (NPL) sales in Spain, particularly in the past five years. The trigger was undoubtedly the setting up of the Spanish bad bank (Sareb) and the transfer of €51 billion ($61 billion) of impaired assets (loans with mortgage collateral and real estate properties). Since 2012, Sareb has been very active selling NPL portfolios to institutional investors through competitive sale processes and there is still a nine-year period left to sell them all (with more than €39 billion still remaining). More recently, Sareb has launched an online platform so investors can also bid for the NPLs on an individual basis.Borrowers are also becoming increasingly interested in acquiring debt at a discount through funds from alternative providers.

As of January 1 2017, the amendment to the Slovak Commercial Code introduced a new corporate form – the simple joint-stock company (JSA). It is a simpler form of the joint-stock company with some specific features, including: reduced share capital of a minimum of just €1 ($1.20); the possibility of a one-person board of directors; the ability to issue various classes of shares; and, the ability to agree on an exit from the company. Two new statutory concepts were also introduced: the shareholders' agreement and option rights in the sale of shares.

The corporate tax systems of most European countries contain rules that provide some form of fiscal relief on income from participations. Under these rules, income, gains or losses from participations are often fully or partly disregarded. Switzerland also recognises participation relief in corporate taxation, yet its rules stand in sharp contrast to the ones commonly encountered, as they treat participations a priori as ordinary taxable assets. This provides both opportunities and pitfalls which taxpayers should be aware of.

As early as March 2014 the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) alerted potential investors to the risks associated with investment in virtual currencies or contracts for difference (CFD) linked to them. Its recently-issued circular C244 dated October 13 2017 sets out the conditions Cyprus investment firms must satisfy in the event they provide investment services in respect of such products to safeguard investors' interests.

Advisory services for securities have been a topic of discussion and concern for local regulators and supervisors, as well as for local and foreign market participants, because of the breadth of the existing applicable law and the various legal restrictions involved. Nowadays, advisory services for securities fall under one of the following descriptions: (i) a securities' intermediation activity, (ii) a duty requested from local securities' intermediaries; or, (iii) an activity not regulated by local regulations (which only applies for some activities undertaken within M&A processes and similar investment banking transactions).

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) regulates the banking and finance industries in Ireland. It has a broad range of investigative powers to allow it to perform its supervisory and regulatory functions. These include the power to enter into and search premises, take copies of documents and obtain information in other ways. The legislation protects the right to legal professional privilege (LPP) enjoyed by a person who is the subject of the exercise of those powers. However, the legislation is otherwise generally silent on issues such as the right to privacy of personal information. The interaction of regulatory powers with the right to privacy in our digital age has been the subject of much discussion recently in Ireland.

On May 26 2017, an amendment to the Civil Code was enacted and will be enforced within three years from the promulgation date of June 2 2017. The aim of this Amendment is to comprehensively reform the law in respect of obligations in the Japanese Civil Code. Although many of the provisions were revised based on existing case law and commonly accepted theories in Japan, this Amendment will have a significant effect on Japanese legal practice because: (i) it covers a broad range of legal issues, which include statutory interest rates, statutes of limitations, default, cancellation of contracts, damages, assignments of claims, set-offs and guarantee obligations; and, (ii) it introduces some new rules. This article covers some of the new rules introduced by the Amendment.

Brazilian closed-end funds offer an advantageous investment platform since their earnings are only taxable upon distribution to investors. Conversely, income earned by Brazilian open-end funds is taxed every six months, the so-called come-cotas.

On October 25 2017, the Law of Secured Transactions (Law 936) came into force with the purpose of stimulating access to credit for individual traders, small and medium enterprises, and other institutions that due to the nature of their assets were not subject to financing at competitive interest rates.

The Philippine supreme court has finalised the validity of Securities and Exchange Commission Memorandum Circular number 8 of 2013 (SEC MC No 8-2013) prescribing the guidelines for compliance with Filipino-foreign ownership requirements in partially-nationalised activities. The supreme court recently dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by the petitioner in the case of Roy vs Herbosa (Roy), thereby confirming the validity of SEC MC No. 8-2013.