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Banks’ use of the template is not as guaranteed The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Asifma) is drafting an umbrella agreement to supplement Hong Kong's comfort letter standard. It is expected to speed up negotiations between underwriters and auditors. The Hong Kong Standard on Investment Circular Reporting Engagements 400 (HKSIR 400), which was revised in December 2012, sets out the form and substance for comfort letters and bring-down letters. Since HKSIR 400's revision, Asifma has been having discussions with its members regarding an umbrella agreement to supplement the HKSIR 400 form for debt capital markets deals.

John Breslin Karole Cuddihy The Irish High Court decision in Ulster Bank Ireland Limited v Dermody (2014) has raised an evidential issue for financial institutions contemplating debt enforcement and possession proceedings. The issue is whether, in proceedings brought by a bank, evidence grounding the proceedings can be given by an officer or employee of a legal entity other than the bank. In a number of cases, the intended deponent will in fact be an employee of a related company (or in some cases an employee of an external service provider), even if they have carried out the day-to-day dealings with the customer. In Dermody, the person who swore the affidavits grounding the application for summary judgment was not an employee of Ulster Bank Ireland Limited (UBIL), but rather of Ulster Bank Limited (UBL), a related company which dealt with the debt collection process of UBIL on its behalf. UBIL was a wholly owned subsidiary of UBL.

Nobuaki Ito The Anti-monopoly Act of Japan was promulgated on December 13 2013 and is expected to come into force within 18 months (the specific date to be determined by way of cabinet order). The Act will abolish administrative appeal procedures by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) for certain JFTC orders. In addition, a supplementary provision of the amended act provides that the government will, within one year of the promulgation date, consider changes to investigation procedures to preserve the rights of potential interested parties and maintain consistency with other administrative procedures, and will take appropriate measures as necessary in accordance with the discussions. In response to this, an advisory panel was set up and one of the main points for consideration is whether attorney-client privilege should be introduced for anti-monopoly procedures in Japan. In Japan, there is no attorney-client privilege in criminal or administrative investigation procedures. However, some assert that this should be granted in respect of anti-monopoly investigation procedures because: (i) companies providing information which involve communications with their attorneys in response to report orders from the JFTC may possibly be waiving attorney-client privilege that, with respect to these communications, would otherwise be recognised in foreign jurisdictions; and, (ii) granting attorney-client privilege to an extent similar to common law jurisdictions will not unduly hinder JFTC investigations and the JFTC can seek and collect relevant non-protected materials.

David Hernand, Paul Hastings In the final weeks of June, OTTERBOURG announced its hire of banking and finance lawyers Jeffrey Rosenthal and Thomas Duignan as partners in New York. The pair, who are certified public accountants, had been with Troutman Sanders following their departure from Greenberg Traurig in February 2013. Also in New York, KING & SPALDING recruited Drew Chapman as a partner from WilmerHale where he headed up the alternative investment team.

The lighter side of the past month in the world of financial law

Kyriacos Kourtelos In 2009, the EC proposed a directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs). The proposed directive aimed to ensure a high level of investor protection by setting out a common framework for the authorisation and supervision of AIFMs in the EU. Further, it aimed to provide robust and harmonised regulatory standards for all AIFMs within its scope and to enhance the transparency of AIFMs' activities and improve disclosure to stakeholders. In 2010, a political agreement was reached by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on Directive 2011/61/EU on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMD), which amended directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and regulations EC 1060/2009 and EU 1095/2010. As the AIFMD adopts a phased approach to the implementation, it affects European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EEA fund managers differently. Nonetheless, becoming fully authorised under the AIFMD may allow certain fund managers to undertake management and marketing activities throughout the whole of the EU. Member states were required to transpose the AIFMD into national law by July 22 2013. Cyprus was the second member state to harmonise its legislation with the AIFMD, with the enactment of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law of 2013 (Law 56(I)/2013 – the Law), which was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on July 5 2013. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) was appointed as the relevant supervisory authority under the law. The AIFMD and the law are complemented by three EC regulations that have direct effect, namely:

Banks’ use of the template is not as guaranteed Private equity exits in China have been rare in recent years due to domestic regulatory issues and structural shifts in its economy. But limited partners (LPs) have called for their return. Exits from Chinese investments have concerned LPs since regulators closed the country's IPO market in late 2012. The government's plans to establish a more market-driven economy might also exacerbate exit difficulties.

Randall Barquero On May 20 2014, Law 9246 – the Law on Guarantees on Movable Assets (Law)– was published in the official Costa Rican law gazette La Gaceta. In approving this type of law, Costa Rica joins various other countries in the region which seek to give better financing opportunities to businesses, particularly small and medium companies. The Law is based on the Inter-American Model Law on Guarantees on Movable Assets prepared by the Organization of American States. It will allow the constitution of guarantees over specific items of movable property, or a generic group of these, as well as on inventories, equipment, circulating assets, and account receivables. The Government of Costa Rica, as well as the country´s legal and business sectors, have high hopes that the law will stimulate and increase the access to credit for companies in the productive sector of the Costa Rican economy that otherwise could not provide suitable collateral for normal credit structures.

Ecommerce in India is growing exponentially in several areas, including online travel services, retail, and other services such as taxis, education, hospitality, food and drink and even secretarial support. According to industry surveys, ecommerce could represent up to four percent of India's economy by 2020, compared to less than one percent now.

The news that London has finally issued its maiden sukuk has everyone excited that Islamic finance could become a viable option for corporates in the western world. However, alongside the jubilation comes another round of inevitable discussions about competition between finance centres vying to gain the biggest slice of the lucrative shariah market.