The European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 – MiCA), which entered into force on 29 June 2023, is a significant new regulation that will impact the treatment of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. MiCA requires the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to develop a series of regulatory technical standards (RTS) and implement technical … Continue Reading
Businesses around the globe, including those situated in Germany, continue to face difficulties because of disruptions in their supply chain created, in particular, by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. To add to that, the new German Supply Act on Corporate Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (the “Act”) is likely to place further pressure on … Continue Reading
As expected, the market access to the EU for UK financial services firms has changed post-Brexit. As of 1 January 2021, UK financial services firms that intend to do business in the EU can no longer rely on the EU Single Market to offer their services using the EU passporting system. Therefore, the implications of … Continue Reading
For derivative transactions that are relocated from the United Kingdom to the EEA or newly concluded there, in many cases new master agreements must be concluded between the involved parties. The total volume of European derivatives trading (measured by open gross notional amount) amounted to around €681 trillion at the end of 2019 as announced … Continue Reading
In a series of blogs, we will be reflecting on how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected local economies and businesses considering the impact of lockdown, how businesses have fared during the pandemic, whether support from the government has helped protect against business failure, which sectors have been hardest hit by the pandemic and … Continue Reading
On 3 June 2020, the German Federal Government announced a €130bn fiscal package to help the German economy to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the package is in particular to strengthen broad consumption, incentivize private and public investments (particularly in green and digital technologies) and provide a boost to … Continue Reading
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron presented a joint Franco-German proposal on the European recovery from the coronavirus crisis on 18 May 2020. The main aim is to set up a €500 billion Recovery Fund at EU level for solidarity and growth, managed by the EU Commission. The funds are to be … Continue Reading
The German Federal Government has launched a series of assistance packages of measures for business against the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the German Government is of the opinion that start-ups and young technology companies are particularly important for the German economy. See our alert for further details about the new measures.… Continue Reading
On May 15, 2020 the German Bundesrat approved the Second Law for the Protection of the Population in the Event of an Epidemic Situation of National Significance. The law contains numerous legal amendments and regulatory powers to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic such as preventative testing and the care bonus to ensure the functioning of … Continue Reading
The German Federal Government’s various aid measures for employees, self-employed persons, small, medium and large enterprises are suitable for alleviating personal hardships, reducing the economic costs of insolvencies and plant closures and supporting the economy. In addition, it is important that the German Federal Government will play also a constructive role in overcoming the crisis … Continue Reading
To assist German businesses in understanding what financial support packages are now available we have produced a helpful guide summarising those. This gives an overview of the packages, the level of funding available, eligibility, how to apply and when it will be available. To access the most up to date guide click on this link. … Continue Reading
A major problem to the analysis of the crypto asset and the related blockchain industry has been and still is the lack of clear guidelines and legal definitions. This blog considers how German law approaches crypto assets and how those type of assets are dealt with in an insolvency.… Continue Reading
The European Union (EU) recognized the unprecedented situation, which has arisen as a result of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak and is currently activating measures to help the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Click here to read out latest alert about these measures.… Continue Reading
On March 23, 2020, the German Federal Government (Bundesregierung) published a draft bill to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 in civil, insolvency and criminal procedural law. From an insolvency perspective, the aim of the proposed amendments is to enable and facilitate the continuation of businesses that have become insolvent or are experiencing economic difficulties … Continue Reading
The German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection is preparing new legislation suspending the obligation to file for insolvency in order to protect companies that encounter financial difficulties due to the coronavirus crisis (see here). According to section 15a(1) of the German Insolvency Code (Insolenzordnung), managing directors or management board members of legal entities … Continue Reading
On 12 March 2018 the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation to govern the law applicable to the third-party effects of assignments of claims (the “Assignment Regulation”). The proposal of the Assignment Regulation adopted by the European Commission deals with which law applies to determine the effectiveness and perfection of the transfer of … Continue Reading
In the context of German restructuring, bridge loans (Überbrückungskredite) are loans that are granted to financially distressed companies until a restructuring plan is formulated in order to avoid the company’s insolvency. In most cases, such loans are granted for a limited timeframe. After the restructuring plan has been finalized, renegotiations are usually required, in particular between the … Continue Reading
The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a public consultation on its guidance to banks on handling non-performing loans (NPLs), which is open until 15 November 2016. The ECB has also published the first stocktake of national supervisory practices and legal frameworks concerning NPLs. The draft NPL guidance to banks, which is available on the ECB … Continue Reading
Maple Bank GmbH (“Maple”) has operated in Frankfurt, Germany since 1994. The bank acted in the business areas of equity and fixed income trading, repos and securities lending, deposits, structured products and institutional sales. Maple has branches in Germany, Netherlands and Canada and subsidiaries in U.S., U.K. and the Cayman islands. It is part of the … Continue Reading
Hypo Group Alpe Adria AG, an Austrian banking group, was nationalized by the Austrian government in 2009 in order to avert a bank collapse. The Austrian province of Carinthia owned the bank until 2007 and the guarantees given by Carinthia for the bank’s debt still amount to several times its annual budget, which has made the winding-down … Continue Reading
The European Union regulation on derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR) introduces new requirements to improve transparency and reduce the risks associated with the derivatives market. EMIR also establishes common organisational, conduct of business and prudential standards for Central Counterparties (CCPs) and trade repositories. In the EU official journal, it was stated on 1 December 2015 that … Continue Reading
When Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank International AG (Hypo), the Austrian bank, failed in 2014, the Austrian Government paved the way for the establishment of Heta Asset Resolution AG (Heta) as a wind-down vehicle to assume and manage large parts of its assets. The idea was to wind down Hypo by 2020. The Austrian “Act on the Recovery and … Continue Reading
The European Banking Association (EBA) issued Guidelines on 26 May 2015 regarding the circumstances under which an institution is considered to be failing or likely to fail according to Article 32(6) of Directive 2014/59/EU. Such Guidelines take effect on 1 January 2016 and were issued pursuant to Article 32(6), which directed the EBA to issue these … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2015, the German States (Bundesländer) have adopted a law implementing the European Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive. The new law will be submitted to the German President (Bundespräsident), Joachim Gauck, for his signature and it is anticipated that it will enter into force on July 3, 2015. The law is intended to better protect the … Continue Reading
