The Report of the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) issued on 29 March 2017. As always, it contains interesting insights on trends and outcomes in FSO complaints.
Disputes
Yesterday, the Irish Department of Finance published a Discussion Paper on Virtual Currencies and Blockchain Technology.
Client TechDavid Widger, Head of A&L Goodbody's Corporate Department, reviews the Irish private equity deal activity in 2017 and provides an outlook for the months ahead. First published in the Private Equity Review (Seventh Edition) by Law Business Research.
Private Equity & Venture CapitalDr Vincent Power, Head of A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition & Procurement Group, looks at the Irish regime and reviews policies and guidance in relation to cartels and leniency law in Ireland. First published in 'The Cartels and Leniency Review' (Sixth Edition) by Law Business Research.
EU, Competition & ProcurementAs part of its Landfill Tax Compliance Strategy and following a public consultation last year, the Government has brought forward draft legislation amending the Landfill Tax Regulations 1996 (the "1996 Regulations"), which extends the scope of Landfill Tax to sites operating without the appropriate environmental licence or permit. The proposed changes will apply to waste disposed of at landfill an
Environmental & PlanningWe look at the key areas where employers will need to implement change to manage the impact of GDPR.
EmploymentIf a transaction by a company amounts to an "unlawful distribution", and the company subsequently goes into liquidation, will an action for recovery of the benefits of that distribution, brought against the directors who authorised the transaction, be statute-barred if it is commenced by the liquidator of the company more than 6 years after the distribution was made?
On a domestic level, the Data Protection Bill 2018 was published which incorporates Ireland's national implementing measures required under the GDPR. The Central Bank published its Q&A in relation to the Minimum Competency Code 2017 and Minimum Competency Regulations 2017.
Financial RegulationFrom a domestic perspective, the Central Bank published a table of reporting requirements for MiFID investment firms. On a European level, ESMA has issued updates to a number of its Q&As, on topics including EMIR, the Benchmarks Regulation and MiFID II.
Financial RegulationOn the domestic front, the Cost of Insurance Working Group published its fourth update on progress, while the Department of Finance consulted on the National Claims Information Database.
Financial RegulationIt has been a relatively quiet month on the domestic front, a research paper on the impact of repossession risk on mortgage default was published by the Central Bank. From a European perspective, the ECB published consolidated banking data for end-September 2017.
FinanceIn Ireland the Central Bank announced its intention to broaden the scope of what a Loan Originating Qualifying Investor AIF (LO-QIAIF) may invest in to include "investment in debt/credit instruments".In Europe ESMA published an updated version of its Q&As on Benchmarks Regulation with two new Q&As concerning commodity benchmark & what types of investment funds are considered to be using an index
Asset Management & Investment Funds
