Green Bonds: Standard Deviation

Islamic finance is experiencing rapid global expansion, with assets approaching US$6tn and record sukuk issuance attracting non-traditional investors. The convergence of Shariah-compliant and sustainable investing is creating new opportunities, while AAOIFI Standard No. 62 and tokenisation developments are reshaping how Islamic finance structures are designed and implemented across international markets.

The Financial Conduct Authority has released comprehensive perimeter guidance for the UK's new regulated cryptoasset activities regime, clarifying when firms will need authorization and how the regulatory framework applies to qualifying cryptoassets and stablecoins. The guidance addresses critical questions about scope, territorial application, and the narrower "by way of business" test that determines which entities fall under the new regulatory requirements.

In July 2017, the FCA published its Enforcement annual performance account for 2016/17.

The Financial Conduct Authority has released a comprehensive package of regulatory updates and findings covering investment management, wealth management, and consumer protection. Key developments include reforms to MiFID costs and charges disclosures, remuneration code changes, AIFM regime overhauls, and detailed reviews of firms' Consumer Duty compliance, financial crime controls, and governance frameworks.

This weekly bulletin examines critical developments in UK financial regulation, including the FCA's findings on systemic operational resilience from its Defence, Security, and Resilience Lab exercise, the government's comprehensive consultation on modernising corporate reporting frameworks, and progress on the Financial Services and Markets Bill through Parliament. The bulletin also covers international regulatory updates on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures, sustainable finance disclosu

The London Stock Exchange has implemented sweeping reforms to the AIM Rules, fundamentally reshaping admission requirements, transaction thresholds, and governance obligations for companies on the Alternative Investment Market. These changes eliminate longstanding requirements like working capital statements and corporate governance codes while introducing new features such as capital access windows and special voting shares, marking the most significant overhaul of AIM regulations in recent years.

On November 25, 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority fined Barclays Bank plc £72,069,400 for failing to minimize financial crime risks appropriately.

Challenger banks have achieved a great deal of success since they burst on the scene in a big way a decade or so ago to vie with traditional retail banks for a share of the market.

As widely anticipated, the Bank of England voted last week to hold Bank Rate at 3.75%. Whilst markets had expected the decision, it is noticeable that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) moved from a 7-2 decision, to a 6-3 one, with three members favouring a 0.25% increase. The move demonstrates the continued uncertainty around the UK’s inflationary environment, particularly in light of geopolitical tension, tariffs and trade disruption and political change, and their combined impact on global energy prices and the wider economic outlook.

On 14 July 2026, HM Treasury published its long-awaited consultation on modernising the UK’s payment services and electronic money regulatory framework. The consultation is part of the Government’s National Payments Vision agenda, which aims to ensure that the UK has a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, while preserving choice for consumers and businesses.

On 30 September 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) circulated for public comment the Measures on the Administration of Data Security in the Industry and Information Technology Sector

Designed for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers, this newsletter summarizes some of the most important international anti-corruption law and enforcement...

A recent proposal issued by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, along with various other current private- and public-sector initiatives, signals a strong interest in promoting investment in and the growth...

On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the BIOSECURE Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is the U.S. Congress's annual defense policy bill.

On May 27, 2019, the Japanese government published amended rules[1] that aim to tighten the regulatory requirements applicable to foreign direct investment (tai nai chokusetsu toshi or FDI)

On 25 July 2018, the European Commission ("the Commission") published its decision on the Altice/PT Portugal gun jumping case. The Commission concluded that various contractual clauses allowed Altice N.V. ("Altice") ...

The new Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (Bankruptcy Law) was adopted on August 27, 2006 and will take effect on June 1, 2007, superseding the 1986-enacted Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (Trial) 1986, governing the bankruptcy of State-owned Enterprises . The Bankruptcy Law offers for the first time a unified regime applicable to all types of enterprises in China and also provides a more robust and detailed regime for enforcement of creditors’ claims. We discuss below

Like the COVID-19 virus, COVID-related contract claims have not gone away. In "Contracting in the Fog of War: Recovering Costs Caused by an Epidemic," we reported on Pernix Serka Joint Venture v. Department...

On June 30, 2017, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court (the "Wuhan Court") issued a decision recognizing and enforcing a civil money judgment issued by the Los Angeles Superior Court arising out of...

Japan is widely perceived as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. In 2020, Transparency International ranked Japan as the 19th least corrupt country out of 180 countries in...