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Negative interest rates – pay day for borrowers?

13 Oct 2020

The Bank of England has written to UK banks to ask if they would be ready if interest rates were cut to zero or turned negative. Back in March, the Bank of England reduced its Base Rate to 0.1%, its lowest ever level, in order to help reduce borrowing costs as COVID-19 tightened its grip on the UK economy. In May, the Governor of the Bank of England paved the way for negative interest rates and lenders began contingency planning for this. But does that mean borrowers will soon receive interest on what they've borrowed? The answer might not be what you'd expect…

Spotlight thrown onto imaging orders – Court of Appeal issues warning shot

08 Oct 2020

With advances in forensic tools, it has become increasingly common for courts to grant imaging orders (in support of search orders) for the quick and comprehensive preservation of electronically stored data on hard drives, laptops, etc. An advantage of imaging orders is that they allow the search process to be far less intrusive and disruptive for the business/premises that are being searched. On the other hand, a disadvantage is that the imaging process does not discriminate between documents that pertain to the issues of the proceedings and are covered by the search orders from documents that are irrelevant and/or privileged.

Financial regulation: getting back to "normal"?

14 Sep 2020

COVID-19 has now been interrupting almost every aspect of work and life for so long, it's hard to remember what "normal" is. Or, maybe more accurately, what normal was. The summer holidays have ended, the furlough scheme is beginning to wind down, every effort has been made to have schools able to open and stay open, and the Government is encouraging people to get back to work. But what does this actually mean for the financial services industry?

Brexit and exhaustion of rights

10 Aug 2020

Parallel trade is the import (and export) of genuine goods protected by intellectual property ("IP") rights, and occurs where the IP rights are said to have been 'exhausted' – where the goods are put on the relevant market by, or with the consent of, the IP-right owner.

WBD advises on Northern Accelerator investment fund

06 Aug 2020

WBD has advised on the creation of Northern Accelerator's Seed Investment Fund. Northern Accelerator is an innovative collaboration between four universities in the North East of England and the seed investment fund, managed by Northstar Ventures, will back spin-out businesses in the region.

Can former employees take your confidential information to their new job?

28 Jul 2020

When an individual moves to a new role, they take valuable skills and knowledge which they will use for the benefit of their new employer. Where this happens, particularly where an employee moves to a competitor, it can be difficult to draw a line between information that an employee can legitimately use in their new position as part of their own experience, and specific information which should not be disclosed even though the terms of their former employment contract have ceased to apply.

Court of Appeal upholds refusal to pay for fear of US secondary sanctions

06 Jul 2020

The Court of Appeal has upheld a judgment that a borrower was justified in its refusal to make payments under a Facility Agreement where the ultimate beneficial owner of the lender was an OFAC SDN.

FCA updates on Business Interruption Test Case

02 Jun 2020

We previously reported on FCA's intentions to bring a test case to obtain court declarations that would help resolve contractual uncertainty in several business interruption policies, stemming from claims relating to COVID-19. On 1 June, it confirmed the results of its enquiries to date, and its next steps.

EU crowdfunding regulation – investor protection aspects

27 May 2020

In this article we consider the provisions that deal with ensuring investor protection, including examining who can invest on a crowdfunding platform, what standards apply to investor communications and marketing, what the pre-contract information requirements are and what the proposal says about investors who wish to cancel or sell their investments.

WBD bolsters Edinburgh offering with two new hires

20 May 2020

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has strengthened its offering in Edinburgh with two new hires in its banking and real estate teams.

Related insights: Financial Institutions

Negative interest rates – pay day for borrowers?

Spotlight thrown onto imaging orders – Court of Appeal issues warning shot

Financial regulation: getting back to "normal"?

Brexit and exhaustion of rights

WBD advises on Northern Accelerator investment fund

Can former employees take your confidential information to their new job?

Court of Appeal upholds refusal to pay for fear of US secondary sanctions

FCA updates on Business Interruption Test Case

EU crowdfunding regulation – investor protection aspects

WBD bolsters Edinburgh offering with two new hires

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Related insights: Financial Institutions

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