As the economic environment shifts with increased interest rates and credit weakening projected while liquidity sources are highly scrutinized, it is important for financial institutions to revisit the significance of loan portfolio management fundamentals. Effective loan portfolio management involves a comprehensive approach to managing the various types of risk in the loan portfolio. The risk landscape of your loan portfolio has changed as borrowers, individually or commercially, have been impacted in one way or another by economic changes. So, when...

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Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed rule that would regulate a broad range of “junk fees” in consumer goods and services, from resort fees associated with travel and lodging, to delivery fees associated with meal and grocery delivery, to convenience fees associated with financial services (the proposed rule). The proposed rule would generally prohibit the omission of mandatory fees from advertised prices. If finalized, violations of the proposed rule could result in civil penalties of up to...

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This is the final post regarding the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which takes effect on January 1, 2024. This piece is preceded by two other articles summarized and linked here. The first post described why the Act was passed, which entities will be affected, who must file and who is exempt, and when filings will be required. The second post outlined what information will need to be filed in order to comply with the Act, who must file on...

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The European collateralized loan obligation (CLO) market has held firm throughout this difficult economic climate. Panelists at Opal Group's European CLO Summit 2023 remained optimistic that there could be 12 more deals before the year's end. One point of discussion was the default risk in the market and there was a clear consensus around the 4 to 5% mark. But what's more ambiguous is the looming downgrade risk, especially its potential impact on the CCC-rated securities. With technical defaults making their presence felt through...

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Both the Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR) and the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (IVDR) aim to provide “a robust, transparent, predictable and sustainable regulatory framework that ensures a high level of safety and health while supporting innovation”. However, despite more than six years of implementation, the European and Swiss medical technology industry say that the IVDR and MDR have not achieved their intended objectives. Importantly, they say that there are structural issues in the...

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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark bills into law on October 7, imposing stringent new requirements on large companies doing business in California to publicly report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Senate Bill (SB) 253) and climate-related financial risks (SB-261). The new laws apply to publicly traded and privately held companies — going well beyond the March 21, 2022, climate disclosure rule proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would apply only to publicly traded companies. One...

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EU completes key "Fit for 55" climate and energy legislation Earlier this week, the Council of the EU adopted the revised Renewable Energy Directive and the RefuelEU Aviation Regulation, completing its momentous “Fit for 55” legislative package. The “Fit for 55” package is a set of legislation that updates EU legislation to ensure EU policies align with the climate goals. It was introduced in July 2021 in response to the EU Climate Law's requirements and updated by the Commission to boost...

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On September 29, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) CHIPS Program Office released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the construction, expansion, or modernization of facilities for the manufacture and production of semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment for which the capital investment cost is less than $300 million. Up to $500 million in CHIPS incentives will be awarded under this latest FOA. The latest FOA calls for proposals for construction, expansion, or modernization of the following...

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Since the beginning of 2023, there have been several notable developments in the area of competition law enforcement in the Netherlands. CARTEL ENFORCEMENT The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) imposed fines for various cartel infringements in relation to (i) the procurement of industrial eggs, (ii) the e-commerce of televisions and (iii) the manufacturing of traffic signs: Industrial eggs: On 22 December 2022, egg traders Interovo, Wulro and Global received a fine for fixing prices when purchasing industrial eggs from farmers. The ACM...

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On September 26, 2023, the Bureau of Internal Labor Affairs (ILAB) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its 2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Report,1 analyzing the state of child labor in 131 countries and territories, including the United States, and outlining jurisdiction-specific recommendations to combat illegal child labor practices.2 According to the Report, in 2022, there were 160 million children still engaged in child labor, with nearly half working in hazardous conditions, including forced labor and...

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