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Ireland is the latest sovereign to successfully launch a zero-coupon bond in the market, with reports pointing to demand 2.5x oversubscribed for the five-year notes.

Updating the legal framework in Central America will help guarantee data confidentiality. But in order for companies to face growing vulnerabilities and risks, any internal policies or regulations that they establish must be complemented with appropriate technology. In El Salvador and the rest of the region, companies are rethinking their security strategies, including controls, policies, work regulations and internal processes. These new security measures are driven by the evolution of technology, IT security incidents and industry growth.

As these loans become ever more popular in Europe, capital providers need enhanced creditor protections to manage any potential downside

The market is pondering what life after the benchmark will look like, including possible replacements and the impact on future and updated bond programmes

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are now the focus of both the public's and the regulator's attention. ICOs are a digitalised method of raising capital in which an organisation issues tradable digital units (tokens) to finance a specific project or to develop it further. They are exclusively used to fund early stage projects of startups, often without a clear track record and with unclear success probability. In the course of the offering, the investor receives a token from the issuing organisation in exchange for cryptocurrencies (for example, bitcoin) or standard currencies (also referred to as fiat money). Tokens are created on a blockchain and exist as tradable digital units on distributed ledgers as a part of a protocol. For example, the Ethereum blockchain provides not only the cryptocurrency Ether, but also a platform to write smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, which makes it possible for market participants to easily generate and issue their own tokens, mostly on the basis of the ERC-20 token standard.

The Commission’s Chairman talks to IFLR’s John Crabb about the need to balance derivatives market regulation and financial system stability with economic growth and prosperity

The new Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law 87(I)/2017 (the IS Law), which implements the revised EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II) in Cyprus, will enter into force on January 3 2018. In preparation, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued guidance to regulated entities advising them of the more rigorous product governance requirements which will apply under the new law. The product governance requirements under Mifid II are set out in articles 17(3) and 25(2) of the IS Law, chapter III of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 and European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) guidelines document Esma35-43/620.

Sean Lacey Pierantonio Musso In Latvia – in the latest chapter of the long-running firm merry-go-round that has been the Baltic legal market in recent years – the local branch of Swedish firm Magnusson announced it has split from its former network and joined pan-Baltic group Glimstedt. Following the merger of its Latvia team Glimstedt & Partners with Ellex in February, Glimstedt had lacked a presence in Riga for the past eight months. Its new office is now managed by partners Aldis Kalinks, Ivars Kronis, Valdis Kronis, Agnese Medne, and Lauris Zubulis.

Technology plays a major role in the development of financing alternatives, and investors and consumers are eager to access funds in a more expeditious and efficient manner. In fact, investors would relish the efficiency of tasks such as due diligence and disbursement being possible at the click of a link, without having to enter into complex negotiations and long drafting sessions. This new reality brings with it new challenges, not only for financial entities but also for regulators and lawyers. Fintech is a reality that imposes financial regulations and allows business to evolve.

The global economy is moving away from fossil fuels. But markets could be in for a shock when the well runs dry