Chapter News

EFSM revised to shield non-euro area countries from risk

On 4 August 2015, the EU Council approved a regulation amending the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) in order to protect non-euro area member states from any risk arising from financial assistance given to a euro area country. This principle was endorsed on 17 July 2015 by a joint statement of the Commission and the Council. It was agreed along with a decision to grant €7.16bn in short term financial assistance to Greece under the EFSM. Specifically, the regulation ensures that...

Read more

Member News

BOS Container USA wins “Best Of Business” Industry Award

INSIDE SELF-STORAGE BEST OF BUSINESS 2015 The Inside Self-Storage "Best of Business" reader-choice poll, launched in 2011, solicits online votes from industry professionals who elect their favorite suppliers in approximately 30 categories. Awards include Best Builder, Best Management Software, Most Innovative Product and Best Customer Service among many others. Winners are honored through profile pages in ISS magazine as well as during a special ceremony at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. The results are published online year-round for ISS...

Read more

Chapter News

Our Biggest Step Yet in Fighting Climate Change

President Obama just announced America's Clean Power Plan -- the biggest and most important step our country has taken in the fight against climate change. Our power plants are responsible for about a third of America's carbon pollution -- more than our cars, airplanes, and homes combined -- and that pollution is fueling climate change. But until now, there have never been federal limits on how much carbon pollution existing power plants can generate. The Clean Power Plan sets the first-ever...

Read more

Chapter News

Investment Plan for Europe: EIF And Credem Sign The First COSME Agreement To Benefit Italian Businesses

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Credito Emiliano SpA (“Credem”), assisted by Finanziaria Internazionale (“FinInt”), have signed the first COSME transaction in Italy benefitting from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) through which the Investment Plan for Europe is being deployed by the European Commission and the EIB Group. The COSME agreement will provide Credem with a guarantee allowing the organisation to increase its lending volumes over the next 2 years, by providing loans to SMEs...

Read more

Member News

Temporary U.S. Visitor Visas

Increasingly, foreign nationals who want to visit the U.S. temporarily – for business, to visit an ill relative, or for vacation – are unable to secure a U.S. visa. In some cases, their visa request is denied; in others, their existing visa is revoked. The applicant is typically seeking a B-1 (for business) and/or B-2 (for pleasure, tourism and / or medical treatment). And in the context of recent U.S. sanctions on Russians and Venezuelans, foreign nationals must also...

Read more

Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Report on the 10th Round of Negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

The Commission today made public the report on the 10th round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which took place from 13-17 July 2015 in Brussels. The text is now available online. This publication is part of the Commission’s transparency initiative and in line with the commitment to publish more information about the negotiations, along with legal proposals, position papers and other material. Other new documents released today include a paper for cooperation on textiles,...

Read more

Member News

Honey, is that a drone outside our bathroom window?

Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), are not new. Indeed, drones were first developed in the '50s and have been used by the military for years. However, drones have only recently come on the civilian market. There are many possible commercial applications for drones, ranging from leisure, photography and logistics to the surveillance of infrastructures and crops. As with all new technologies, it is expected that the development of RPA technology will create new...

Read more

Member News

The quest for certainty in the Bitcoin world

Historically, national currencies were based on a gold standard, then gradually on the belief that the State which issues the currency will be able to guarantee its value and its stability. With the emergence of multiple financial and economic crises, the reliance on States and confidence in the financial industry have declined and virtual currencies, which were initially confined to a very few initiated people, gained the interest of an ever growing part of the population. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies...

Read more

Member News

July CMBS Losses: Property Type and Loan Size

Trepp's July loss analysis showed a second straight month-over-month drop in CMBS loans resolved with losses. Four loans took losses of 100% or more and two B notes were written off in full. Another two B notes were resolved with less than 100% loss. The $65.00 million Philips at Sunrise Shopping Center loan was disposed with a 20.88% loss and the $33.00 million Goodwin Square office loan in Hartford, CT took an 83.60% loss. Ignoring one small manufactured housing loan that took a 150% loss,...

Read more

Member News, Uncategorized

ESMA Issues Opinion on European Passport Extension

Further to recent briefings, ESMA has today published its advice in relation to the application of the Passport to non-EU AIFMs and AIFs (“Advice”) together with its opinion on the functioning of the passport for EU AIFMs and the national private placement regimes (“NPPRs”) (“Opinion”). The Advice and Opinion, required under AIFMD, will now be considered by the European Commission, Parliament and Council. Regarding the advice on the potential extension of the passport, ESMA opted for a country-by-country assessment to...

Read more