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Another round of consolidation in the Iberian financial sector is expected in 2017. And, if only in terms of the semi-announced and widely discounted merger between Bankia and Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN), this new round does indeed seem likely. More broadly, the present map of institutions, with roughly 15 substantial financial groups (though with remarkable differences in size) is commonly acknowledged as an intermediate stage in the route towards a landscape that will be dominated probably by fewer than 10 groups.

Amendments to the Payment Services Act and several related laws concerning virtual currencies are expected to come into effect after April 2017. In response to the amendments, the Financial Service Agency of Japan announced the draft of the Cabinet Office Ordinance concerning virtual currency exchange service providers on December 28 2016. The Ordinance sets forth the details of the rules for virtual currency exchange service providers (VCESP).

Japanese bondholders have reacted strongly to the upcoming presidential elections in France. And if their behaviour on the debt financial markets is anything to go by, then France is headed for trouble. The country's investors have been buying a growing amount of offshore debt in the past year, driven out of their home nation by the bank of Japan's restrictive monetary policy and low – sometimes negative – fixed-rate returns on so-called JGBs. According to Bank of Japan data, they hold JPY 27 trillion ($240 billion) of French bonds, or roughly 11% of their portfolio. Only their US holdings are larger (JPY 122 trillion).

The critical status of clearing houses in the derivatives market is protected by EU-level regulation. But the fact that no single solution has been chosen to tackle potential issues is causing concern.

Driss Bererhi Arne Kluewer

In the midst of the most ambitious concession programme in Colombian history (4G), the country is suffering a backlash from the most profound corruption scandal in the region.

On March 7 2017, the Brazilian federal government released the second phase of the Investment Partnership Programme (Programa de Parceria de Investimentos or PPI) – a governmental programme designed to foster infrastructure by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the government and the private sector.

In August 2016, the Guatemalan Congress approved decree 37-2016 (Ley para el Fortalecimiento de la Transparencia Fiscal y la Gobernanza de la Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria). Through this decree, Congress seeks to reform the organisational structure of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT). This reform will include incorporating mechanisms that contribute to the achievement of SAT's objectives, and in particular, providing the financial resources necessary for the State to comply with its constitutional obligations.

Advance approval from the Philippine Insurance Commission (IC) is now required to acquire a stake in a Philippine corporation that is licenced as an insurance broker or reinsurance broker. This is based on the IC's circular letter number 2017-09 dated February 14 2017 which prescribes guidelines on the documentation requirements for acquiring a domestic insurance or reinsurance broker.

With effect from February 1 2017, new legislation introduced the Public Partners Register (PPR) to replace the existing Beneficial Owners Register.