OTC meaning

In this issue: Lending Security Debt capital markets Derivatives Cryptoassets Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Lending Nova Leipzig Sarl v Gravity Fitness Ltd [2025] EWHC 1262 (Comm) An application to the Commercial Court sought a stay on the basis of forum non conveniens. The court held that Gravity Fitness Limited, an English company, had not satisfied its burden on the ‘More Appropriate Forum’ question. The defendant’s reliance on the potential application of German law was insufficient to establish that Germany was a more suitable forum than England, whether viewed from the parties’ interests or the broader interests of justice. Security Brooke Homes (Bicester) Ltd v Portfolio Property Partners Ltd (in administration) [2025] EWHC 1305 (Ch) This dispute examines equitable rights and duties between secured creditors after development land was sold by the first-ranking mortgagee, Desiman. The second-ranking creditor, Brooke Homes, sought an equitable account and pressed...

In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 Football Governance Bill LIBOR and benchmarks Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Regulation for derivatives lawyers Technology in banking & finance transactions Structured products and securitisation Regulation for banking lawyers Banking & Finance Highlights 2024/2025 Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up For this week’s coverage of Sustainable finance and ESG developments, please see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round–up—19 December 2024. Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2024 SSI 2024/378: From 1 April 2025, the outstanding provisions of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 (the Act) will come into effect. See: LNB News 17/12/2024 9. Moveable Transactions (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 SSI 2024/379: These prescribe the forms to be used for the purposes set out...

In this issue: Key EU developments Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Financial services Environment Insurance and reinsurance Life sciences TMT International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Key EU developments EU introduces competitiveness compass The European Commission has unveiled the competitiveness compass, a strategic blueprint to steer its programme over the next five years, setting out priority measures to bolster Europe’s competitiveness. It marks the first flagship move of this Commission’s mandate. The compass draws on the recommendations in the Draghi report, ‘The future of European competitiveness’, issued in September 2024 (see: LNB News 10/09/2024 44). The ambition is to secure Europe’s leadership in designing, producing and commercialising next-generation technologies, services and clean products, while progressing towards climate neutrality. Although productivity growth has trailed that of other major economies for two decades, the EU retains the ingredients to turn the tide — a...

The most common reasons for entering into derivatives are for the purposes of: Speculation — when a party seeks exposure to a given variable, for example taking a view on a commodity’s future price on the assumption it will rise or fall over a chosen period Hedging — aiming to offset exposure to the risk of an unfavourable shift in a variable, or to stabilise expected outcomes over time Arbitrage — seeking to take advantage of price discrepancies (between markets, or within the same market over time) to earn profit or cut costs, or where one participant can reach a price or market unavailable to another, including where prices differ over time Exposure to asset classes — obtaining access to a target market (eg commodities, shares, property) without incurring the expense, complexity and formalities associated with those markets, avoiding the same costs and complications Derivatives are commonly used alongside lending arrangements for hedging purposes in practice. In this context, the primary...

This document is archived and will no longer be updated. For information on EU EMIR, please see Practice Note: EU MiFID II and MiFIR—essentials and the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR)—timeline. Introduction to the MiFIR level 1 roadmap The recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2014/65/EU) (MiFID II), together with the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (Regulation (EU) 600/2014) (MiFIR), was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 June 2014 and came into force on 2 July 2014. Taken as a package, MiFID II and MiFIR substantially revised and enlarged the regulatory framework first created by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2004/39/EC) (MiFID I). As amended, the bulk of the new Directive and Regulation applied from 3 January 2018. EU Member States were given until 3 July 2017 to transpose MiFID II into national legislation, while MiFIR has direct effect across Member States...

Regulation (EU) 648/2012 of the European Parliament and Council, on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (EU EMIR), was passed on 4 July 2012 and came into effect on 16 August 2012. In the UK, the assimilated version of Regulation (EU) 648/2012 (UK EMIR) is in force. Meeting the demands of EU EMIR and/or UK EMIR may oblige parties to revise procedures and documentation. To support this, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has, to date, issued four protocols addressing specific requirements. This Practice Note summarises those protocols, the matters they cover and the benefits of adherence. What are ISDA protocols? ISDA protocols offer a tool for multilateral amendments to contracts. If both parties adhere to the same ISDA protocol, their agreements are amended automatically in line with the protocol’s terms. This frequently removes the need for expensive negotiations with counterparties, though certain operational points may still require bilateral consent. The existing protocols do not capture every EMIR duty. For instance, ISDA has produced standard language...