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Steven Francis, Baker & McKenzie Germany's legal market saw a fair amount of activity in the past four weeks. Berlin, a city which, as a burgeoning hub for domestic high-tech start-ups and the home of the government, has enticed Berwin Leighton Paisner, Herbert Smith Freehills and Morrison Foerster into establishing a presence there recently. In March, however, KING & WOOD MALLESONS SJ BERWIN revealed it would be leaving the city. Two of the office's three partners, Frank Vogel and Jan Dirk Heerma, are departing the firm to launch a venture capital boutique. Early this month, Eversheds German arm, HEISSE KURSAWE EVERSHEDS announced it would be launching a base in Germany's capital while simultaneously confirming that the two firms, which currently function as an association, were discussing a merger and full financial integration.

Who took home what from IFLR’s 9th Americas awards

Australia's regulatory capital bond market is among the most sophisticated globally. And while a framework has been established for Additional Tier 1 (AT1) offerings, more innovation is expected in Tier 2.

Four months after the final Volcker Rule was published, one question still looms large: will banks implement the proprietary trading ban globally, or will they try to make use of the loopholes.

When do engaged shareholders become activists? It's a question the British government may be forced to answer soon, as years of its well-intentioned proposals finally become material.

Non-banks are a promising source of new finance for Europe’s SMEs. But the CRR and AIFMD are posing structuring challenges

As China's government shifts towards a more market-focused approach, debt capital market participants must address urgent structural issues

Tough economic penalties against Russia for its actions in Crimea look set to have a dramatic – and positive – impact on the country's local banks.

Europe’s cov-lite frenzy could have a similar effect The growing number of covenant-lite (cov-lite) loans in Europe has prompted the question of whether the market could cut into the cov-lite deals that are completed in the US. With the number of these deals growing internationally and covenants increasingly disappearing, a second question about shrinking space between cov-lite loans and bonds is also in need of an answer. Leveraged loans in the US traditionally provided less protection than their European counterparts. This helped to attract business across the Atlantic for so-called Yankee deals. A more active capital markets sector made banks comfortable that they could sell the loans on. US cov-lite deals, which disappeared after the 2008 crash, have been making a comeback over the last two years.

Is the US leverage ratio still just a backstop? On April 8 the US Federal Reserve issued its final ruling on the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (ESLR) for the country's eight largest lenders. The two percent increase over the Basel recommendation has banks considering ways to adjust their portfolios, with the possibility of adding risk to maintain profitability. The final rule is not a deviation from the proposal, but is still unwelcome and could impact banks' global competiveness. The eight largest banks will now be required to meet an ESLR of five percent from 2018 and subsidiaries are recommended to have a six percent ratio.