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Issuers may continue to face uncertainty, but Commerzbank’s Scott Boothby explains that the market’s ability to handle instability shows a maturing asset class

Michael Dakin of Clifford Chance explains why issuers and sponsors can’t afford to take a homogeneous approach to disclosure in an expanding market

Akin Gump's Christopher Leonard, Ezra Zahabi and Chris Poon on how Esma’s long-awaited technical advice on the directive moves the EU one step closer to a single regulatory framework

Norton Rose Fulbright partners Nigel Dickinson and Daniel Franks, and associate Charlotte Brown explain the key distinctions between European institutions' plans to regulate securities lending and repo transactions

Luis Gabriel Morcillo-Méndez Lyana De Luca A new collective investment scheme for real estate investments was recently created to manage and develop real estate projects in Colombia. Foreign real estate managers now have the opportunity of creating this type of vehicle in Colombia to be managed from their countries of domicile (without requiring local licensed presence but acting in cooperation with a local fiduciary entity or stock broker that remains liable before the superintendence of finance for the fund's investments). Decree 2142 of 2013 introduced the Real Estate Collective Investment Funds (RECIF), which are closed-end investment collective vehicles that hold at least 75% of their total value in real estate assets. This is a break-point in the local industry. Since 2007, real estate funds have been incorporated under the form of private equity funds (fondos de capital privado) managed by a local administrator and a general partner, which could be either a local or foreign unregistered entity. RECIFs are a separate investment vehicle with specific requirements in governance and managing structure.

The long-awaited changes promise to create a more evolved business environment for foreign participants

As its economy begins to cool, Cleary Gottlieb's Richard Cooper and Adam Brenneman assess the position of those with exposure in the Andean nation

Maria Jose Cole The Costa Rican Securities Regulator (Superintendencia General de Valores or Sugeval), through the National Council for Supervision of the Financial System (Consejo Nacional de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero or Conassif), recently adopted amendments to the rules governing project finance and securitisation in Costa Rica. The amendments make structural and operational reforms to address the concerns market participants have reiterated regarding limitations set out in the previous regulations, on topics such as asset collateral, related party financing and government approvals.

Elias Neocleous On December 2 2014, the Cyprus finance minister and the American ambassador to Cyprus formally signed the inter-governmental agreement between Cyprus and the US under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca). Fatca is an American tax measure enacted in 2010 to prevent and detect US tax evasion and improve taxpayer compliance by requiring foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report information related to the ownership by US citizens of assets held overseas. A 30% withholding tax is imposed on transactions with overseas financial institutions and other entities that fall within the scope of Fatca unless the institution concerned has concluded an agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service defining its reporting obligations, or the institution's home country has concluded an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) covering the relevant matters. There are two main forms of IGA, known as Model 1 and Model 2. Under the Model 1 IGA, institutions subject to Fatca report information to their own tax authorities for onward transmission to the US authorities. Under Model 2, institutions provide information directly to the American authorities.

Recently there have been some notable rulings by Mauritian courts. The first is Crociani and others v Crociani and others and Princess Camilla de Bourboun des Deux Siciles. In the trust deed in question, the relevant part of clause 12 stated: 'thereafter, the rights of all persons and the construction and effect of each and every provision hereof shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of and construed only according to the law of the said country which shall become the forum for administration of the trusts'.