Our client alert dated 5 May explored some implications of the German Federal Constitutional Court’s decision the same day to prohibit the Bundesbank from participating in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Public Sector Asset Purchase Programme (PSPP). A great deal of reaction and commentary since has focused on whether the Federal Constitutional Court’s admittedly very … Continue Reading
On 5 May 2020 the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) rendered a judgement in a number of individual constitutional complaints (Verfassungsbeschwerden) of German citizens against the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Public Sector Asset Purchase Programme (PSPP) of 2015. The judgment was based on a provision contained in the German constitution which prohibits the German Parliament … Continue Reading
Is there such a thing as an 80:20 rule? And if there is, is it there to be broken? Those questions surrounded the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) last week. Frustration at the slow distribution of funding to SME UK via the scheme led to widespread calls for the Government to underwrite the … Continue Reading
On 7 April, we launched our Summary of European Governments Financial Support, to provide a quick and easy guide to what support is available to businesses. Please view our updated version of the guide, with additional content for a number of key Middle East countries. Throughout Europe and the Middle East, governments have sought to … Continue Reading
The past couple of weeks have seen the UK Government announce a volley of financial support packages for businesses. The two direct support programmes that have already launched, the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) have met with some criticism, notably that CBILS support is not reaching enough … Continue Reading
COVID-19 poses many acute dilemmas for boardrooms. Directors and executives need to make highly sensitive decisions to navigate through the COVID-19 crisis. Decisions taken now could come under scrutiny and potentially give rise to future litigation and regulatory intervention, so directors should be mindful of their duties and consider how their decisions may look in … Continue Reading