McGuireWoods LLP (JD Supra United Kingdom)

On June 4, 2021, the Loan Market Association (LMA) published a recommended form of its reference rate selection agreement (the Selection Agreement), which has been updated following market feedback. The Selection Agreement has been updated to reflect the LMA’s suite of RFR-based documentation and rate switch agreements, and the conventions found in those documents.

On May 20, 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation on its proposed policy framework for exercising two of its new powers under the Benchmarks Regulation, as introduced by the UK Financial Services Act 2021 (UK BMR).

On March 26, 2021, the LMA published a note outlining considerations for market participants relating to the use of forward-looking term SONIA reference rates (Term SONIA Rates).

The UK Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated judgment in Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another [2021] UKSC 3 on 12 February 2021, following its findings in Vedanta Resources plc and another v Lungowe and others [2019] UKSC 20.

March 5, 2021 marks an important day in the LIBOR transition process as the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and ISDA made important announcements on the cessation of LIBOR. In recent years the Bank of England and the FCA have made it clear that the lack of an active underlying market makes LIBOR unsustainable and unsuitable for widespread use.

Following the UK government’s announcement on 22 February 2021 of an exit roadmap of the current lockdown and phased relaxation of social distancing rules, the UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended by a further three months until the end of September 2021.

In today’s budget, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £100 million Taskforce to scrutinise claims made under business support schemes designed to help companies and workers navigate their way through the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taxpayer Protection Taskforce will be examining claims made honestly but in error as well as those made fraudulently.

As the end of Q1 2021 draws closer, the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (the Working Group) published a Q&A that aims to address the end-Q1 milestone for no new GBP LIBOR lending and a best practice guide for GBP referencing loans (the Best Practice Guide) on February 26, 2021.

Uber BV & others v Aslam & others - On 19 February 2021, the UK Supreme Court unanimously upheld that drivers working for ride-hailing app giant Uber Technologies Inc. are to be classified as “workers” under employment law and are not self-employed. Uber had been defeated at every stage of its appeal against the original Employment Tribunal decision in 2016.

On February 15, 2021, the UK Treasury published a consultation paper on potential legal ‘safe harbor’ rules for legacy LIBOR-referencing contracts which have been amended by the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) under the Financial Services Bill.

On January 28, 2021, the UK Loan Market Association (LMA) published exposure drafts of two multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreements which incorporate, among others, backward-looking compounded risk-free rates (the Exposure Drafts). In addition, the LMA published commentary on the Exposure Drafts, which aims to assist market participants in understanding the terms thereof. The...

Since Brexit, the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the UK concerning law enforcement cooperation is now governed by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the Agreement).

ISDA’s IBOR Fallbacks Supplement and Protocol came into effect today. These fallbacks, will be incorporated with immediate effect into all new derivatives contracts which incorporate the 2006 ISDA Definitions, and in all legacy non-cleared derivatives where both parties have adhered to ISDA’s IBOR Fallbacks Protocol. To date, over 12,000 parties have adhered to the Protocol, which remains open...

With the end of LIBOR in sight, on January 11, 2021 the Bank of England, FCA and Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (the Working Group) published a joint statement on the final countdown to the ceasing of publications of all GBP LIBOR settings at the end of 2021 and an updated 2021 Roadmap to assist business in their preparations for the LIBOR transition. Market participant are...

With the end of LIBOR drawing closer, the FCA, Bank of England and the Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (the Working Group) are encouraging market participants to actively transition from referencing LIBOR rates in their loan agreements to risk-free rates (such as SONIA). In this respect, one important aspect that market participants need to consider is the credit spread...

On November 23, 2020, the Loan Market Association (the “LMA”) announced the publication of several new and revised documents, with the purpose of helping market participants incorporate appropriate transition mechanisms into their loan documentation.

On November 18, 2020, the LIBOR administrator ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) announced that they will consult on their intention to cease publication of GBP, EUR, CHF and JPY LIBOR settings across all tenors. Their announcement also indicated that IBA remain in talks with the FCA, other official sector bodies and panel banks regarding the future of USD LIBOR.

A review of the UK’s limited controls over Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) began in 2016, leading to a 2018 White Paper which indicated that changes were on the way. The National Security and Investment Bill announced in November 2020 by the UK government is the culmination of that review process, but it surprised most by going well beyond what was suggested in 2018.

On October 23, 2020, ISDA published its long-awaited IBOR Fallbacks Supplement to the 2006 ISDA Definitions (the Supplement) and Protocol. The publication is a result of years of consultations with regulators and market participants and seeks to provide a solution for the trillions of dollars of IBOR-referencing derivatives contracts. The Supplement and Protocol provide a standardised and...

On 5 November 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial services regulator, announced that it has permanently banned three men convicted of criminal offences from ever working in the financial services industry, on the basis that they do not meet the FCA fit-and-proper-person criteria.

As part of its continued response to the COVID-19 crisis, the UK government has again revised the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The SEISS comprises four taxable grants, available for periods of three months each, the first two grant periods of which have now closed.

Following the UK government’s announcement of a new national lockdown for England in response to the continuing COVID-19 crisis and the recent one-month extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), originally due to close 31 October 2020, on 5 November 2020 the UK government announced a further extension of CJRS by an additional four months. Accordingly, the CJRS will now run until 31

On October 21, 2020, the UK Government introduced the Financial Services Bill (the Bill) to Parliament. The Bill is seen as a vital step towards ensuring the UK’s continued status as a global finance hub in the post-Brexit world, and it also introduces the UK Government’s legislative fix for LIBOR-referencing contracts that face insurmountable barriers in the transition from LIBOR (“tough legacy...

On 22 October 2020, HM Revenue & Customs released further details on the UK Job Support Scheme (JSS), first announced in September. The JSS will now be scaled up and expanded to further support businesses adversely affected by COVID-19 and the associated lockdown restrictions.

With the football transfer window having closed on another round of multimillion-pound transfers, the perception continues that football is a sport awash with cash. However, as football plays on behind closed doors, one need not look too far beneath the surface to uncover clubs across the country struggling to cope with the financial impact of COVID-19.

The UK government announced on 9 October 2020 an expansion of the Job Support Scheme (Expanded JSS) to support workers and businesses through the continuing public health crisis. Businesses which are forced to close because of COVID-19-related restrictions, will be able to apply through the Expanded JSS for up to two-thirds of workers’ pay, in respect of the time that those workers cannot work,...

On 28 September 2020, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020, known as the “lockdown regulations,” came into force. The regulations prescribe mandatory periods for self-isolation and impose specific legal obligations on employers and workers.

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) released an update to its arbitration rules (the “Rules”), with the changes set to take effect from 1 October 2020 and the stated intention of making the arbitral process more streamlined and clear for those involved.

As part of its “Winter Economy Plan,” the UK government announced the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) Grant Extension on 24 September 2020 to support self-employed individuals (which includes members of partnerships).

The UK government announced on 24 September 2020 its “Winter Economy Plan” to support businesses and workers adversely affected by COVID-19 and the associated restrictions, which recently were tightened.