Banking/Finance

Prospects of Capital Control Liberalization in Ukraine

Currency regulations in Ukraine have always been among the most significant impediments to foreign investments and access of Ukrainian businesses to foreign markets. In 2014, substantial external imbalances, capital flight risks, and panic in the foreign exchange market prompted the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to adopt tight capital controls, a number of which remain in effect. Notwithstanding the alleged soundness of such temporary measures, both foreign investors and Ukrainian businesses have long called for clearer and more predictable currency regulations, as well as safeguards to protect their interests. In July 2018, Ukraine finally adopted the long-awaited “On Currency and Currency Transactions” law (the “Currency Law”) which is intended to replace the archaic currency control legislation. The effectiveness of the new legal framework, however, can only be assessed once the NBU lays out detailed rules in its regulations.

PSD2 – Will the New Regulation Disrupt the Established Banking Industry in Slovakia?

Alongside blockchain and crypto currencies, the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) has become a much talked-about buzzword in the FinTech world - sparking discussions about a revolution in banking and financial services. One may argue that disruption to established practices may only result from technological advancement and not from (yet another) massive bundle of regulatory rules. However, through PSD2, the shift towards open banking is being fostered by the European legislator to support innovation and improve competition in the payment services area.

Tokenized Assets in Lithuania’s Legal Environment

In recent years, blockchain technology has offered the business world a variety of new and innovative ways to improve and grow. Starting with initial coin offerings, blockchain technology has found its way into the financial services industry and many other fields of business in Lithuania. The trend of “asset tokenization” has recently become popular among companies seeking to adopt innovative modern technologies and create novel ways to apply blockchain technology when doing business. However, as convenient and simple as it may seem, asset tokenization is an extremely complicated business model, challenging not only the traditional approaches to the sale and purchase of assets, but also raising questions about the relevance of applicable laws and regulations currently in effect.

Syndicated Facilities Under Russian Law – Developments and New Challenges

Below we highlight key developments and challenges related to the new Russian law on syndicated facilities.

Legal Regulation of Virtual Currencies in the Czech Republic

The legal regulation of transactions with virtual currencies and Initial Coin Offerings / Initial Token Offerings is a topic of ever more frequent discussion in the Czech Republic. The ano-nymity of cryptocurrency transactions has been reduced by the introduction of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, while the Czech regulator’s approach to the regulation of trading with virtual currencies is very liberal.

Securitization from a Slovenian Perspective

For the past five years the financial market in Slovenia has been characterized by a process involving the selling of non-performing loan and leasing receivables (“Receivables”), mostly to foreign investors. According to information published by the Bank of Slovenia, Slovenian banks still have approximately EUR 1.5 billion of non-performing loans on their balance sheets, and we expect to see more of these loans being sold in the next two years.

Bankruptcy in the Spotlight in Serbia

The past decade was rather dynamic in terms of the development of the legal framework for bankruptcy in Serbia, as, since its adoption in 2009, the Bankruptcy Law has undergone several amendments, most recently in late 2017, designed to improve the efficiency of the bankruptcy proceedings.