South America

Decreased availability and increased costs of funding have altered the behaviour of borrowers and lenders in the Peruvian leveraged finance market. Thomas Thorndike of Garrigues highlights the main themes and considers the outlook

Jaime Trujillo Caicedo, Alexandra Montealegre and María Camila Vargas, Baker McKenzie

Brigard Urrutia lawyers explain what pension fund administrators need to know about the new framework

Fabiano Gallo, Carolina Marcondes Sant’Angelo, Carla Steinberg and Breno Cintra, Campos Mello Advogados

The Regulatory Unit (Unidad de Regulación Financiera or URF) of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has issued several decrees with the purpose of harmonising Colombian capital requirement regulations applicable to banking institutions with the capital requirement regulations included in Basel III.

Through the enactment of Agreement no. 4-2012, the Superintendence of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP) regulates the provision of reinsurance and brokerage services by foreign entities to local insurance and reinsurance companies authorised to operate in Panama.

In October 2018 a commission of experts was formed to review the landscape of the Colombian capital markets and propose measures to boost the market as an instrument for economic growth and general welfare. The commission gathered information from the market through workshops and one-to-one meetings with market participants. After a nine-month process, the commission presented its recommendations on August 9 2019, in an 80-page document that includes more than 60 initiatives that aim to improve market regulation and conditions.

The Brazilian oil and gas sector does not frequently use project financing and debt capital markets (DCM) to fund its activities unlike in other Brazilian capital-intensive sectors (for example, energy and toll roads) or in other oil markets (for example, onshore US). This results in reduced capital returns and creates difficulties for independent oil companies. Two recent regulations may change this situation.

On June 27 2019, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) issued the third version of the private equity principles (principles). The principles continue to reiterate that the essence of an effective private equity partnership is built on the alignment of interests, governance and transparency; however, this third version also addresses new issues.