Clifford Chance Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series

The unprecedented evolution in global sanctions and trade controls, enacted in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has had an impact on nearly every sector of the economy. Most companies have now transitioned from crisis management to assessing how to manage the complexities of the new risk landscape. A key developing risk is the growing attempts by sanctioned parties to undertake activities that would be considered money laundering under many regulatory regimes. We will examine this new risk through sanctions, trade controls and AML lenses, and discuss government expectations, enforcement risk, and best practices for mitigating these risks.

Activity levels in the syndicated loan and high yield bond markets, for debt finance in the private equity sector, have fallen significantly since February 2022. Our panel of international leveraged finance specialists will explore the drivers of that market dislocation, including the extent to which private credit has filled the gap, and make their predictions for Q4 and into 2023.

The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and Taxonomy Regulatory Technical Standards will come into effect on 1 January 2023. We will discuss what European and international managers need to do to comply, with a specific focus on the Luxembourg CSSF's processes.

In this session we will take a global view on the next stage in the evolution of sponsor-led secondaries transactions for investment funds. We will provide a brief overview of the types of transactions we are seeing in this sector, and then explore: the market perception (and industry concerns) highlighted in recent press coverage; the increasing involvement of regulators; the latest market themes and trends; and what may lie ahead for those participating in this market.

This webinar will focus on the current status of sustainable finance regulations applicable to banks and investment firms in continental Europe and the UK, and a look at the near future, including upcoming sustainability driven product governance rules under MiFID, requirements for enhanced due diligence, non-financial disclosures and prudential requirements.

The UK government and regulators have announced potentially wide-ranging reforms to UK financial services regulation, with the Financial Services and Markets Bill forming a key part of these reforms. We will take a closer look at the likely changes, when these are expected to happen, areas of difference between the UK and EU and what firms need to do to prepare.

We will explore the steps that banks can take to stay ahead of antitrust risks when collaborating with competitors in primary and secondary markets, for example, when selling down a take-out bond issuance, participating in syndicated lending, managing the stick in a rights issue and enforcing share security for margin loans. The talk will include observations on the failed criminal prosecutions in the Australian ANZ case and its wider implications for competitor co-operation in financial markets.

The semiconductor supply chain has seen a turbulent few years, from the global chip shortage to blocked and aborted deals. The future of this critical industry will be shaped by M&A and strategic partnerships, vast public subsidies, regulatory interventions, antitrust and intellectual property law. We will explore how the semiconductor sector and its many downstream industries are responding to the changing legal and regulatory environment.

Carbon credits are increasingly playing a significant part in decarbonisation strategies for governments and companies, but there are still unanswered questions around their legal characterisation and regulatory status. We will look at recent developments in the voluntary carbon markets, the ongoing initiatives to promote trading activity and confidence using derivatives and structured products, and some of the key issues for regulated firms trading these products.

Space Tech is not just about futuristic colonies on Mars and asteroid-mining, it is also about the constellations of satellites that are already supporting so much of the tech here on earth, including ESG applications such as environmental monitoring. It is also critical infrastructure for the defence sector. Our panellists will discuss opportunities in the sector, New Space, financing considerations and the future direction of the industry.

In this session we will consider some use cases for Central Bank Digital Currencies and how they may impact the financial markets particularly when combined with digital assets. This session will provide practical insights for in-house lawyers on novel legal issues that arise from CBDCs and how the role of custodian of digital assets may be evolving.

As ESG increasingly becomes a legal issue, the role of the in-house legal team in ESG is growing fast. In this session our panellists will consider the challenges ahead and emerging best practice.

Our experts will examine recent legal developments in a number of jurisdictions, consider key issues affecting the successful deployment and management of AI and machine learning, look ahead to expected changes to relevant regulatory regimes and discuss what businesses can do to prepare.

The role of the in-house legal team is fast evolving and becoming ever more driven by the relationships it has both inside and outside its organisation. In our recent thought leadership report, we spoke with leaders of legal functions across some of the world’s biggest organisations. This session will explore those relationships, how critical they are to success, how the legal team will operate and how it will evolve in the future.

A review of the markets across Europe and an update on the tools available for private equity houses, companies, financial institutions and funds for navigating into calmer waters.