UPDATE: As of August 4, the Biden administration has declared monkeypox a national health emergency, on the heels of similar announcements by various states and localities as well as the World Health Organization. The latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has barely been contained, yet employers are now being hit with employee inquiries related to monkeypox.  As this virus spreads, states and localities are declaring emergencies while employers are struggling to determine how to respond to this new challenge, including...

This article was previously published in Securities Financial Times | Brian Ruane, CEO of BNY Mellon Government Securities Services Corporation and Clearance & Collateral Management, recently met with Justin Lawson to discuss the firm’s growing collateral business and the first phase of the new user interface for their flagship application, AccessEdge This new redesigned user interface will include enhanced inventory and trade management capabilities, and a unified portal that simplifies the client experience. BNY Mellon has invested in, and is focused...

The UK government has recently published proposals to amend UK data protection legislation with moves towards divergence from EU rules and regulation following the UK’s decision to leave the EU (“Brexit”). The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (“DPDI Bill”) proposes to make significant changes to existing UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”). The proposals include some measures that will result in a significant divergence,...

In this News Update, we provide a high-level overview of the most notable competition law developments in the Netherlands during the first half of 2022. Abuse of dominance In the past six months, there have been considerable developments in the area of abuse of economic dominance. Apple dating apps: In the ongoing dispute between Apple and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets ("ACM"), ACM imposed several orders subject to penalty payments. Apple had initially refused to adjust its allegedly unfair...

On 25 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation on the sustainability-related disclosures imposed on financial market participants and financial advisers was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. On 25 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 of 6 April 2022 (“CR 2022/1288”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. CR 2022/1288 supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 (“SFDR”) with regard to regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) providing...

Economic realities in the food industry today include shortages and price hikes. A growing interest in sustainability and other ESG measures is helping offset these challenges, and ensuring crops and farmers alike are protected. To reduce the impact of supply chain issues, and to support the client in their quest to nurture farming communities, Tradewind Finance provided USD 2.25 million in funding for an agricultural commodities trader based in the Netherlands that exports to Europe and India. It sources ethically-harvested agricultural...

Companies involved in intended or completed M&A transactions falling below EU and national merger notification thresholds should beware that their deals may still catch the European Commission’s eye. The General Court has upheld the Commission’s decision to accept a national referral request regarding Illumina’s acquisition of Grail: a transaction not triggering any of the notification thresholds within the EEA. Until it is clear whether the European Court of Justice shares the General Court’s view, the Commission will continue its quest...

On June 16, 2022, the government of Canada tabled a bill that would make significant changes to privacy laws impacting employers in the federal jurisdiction. The new legislation, the Digital Charter Implementation Act (Bill C-27) would replace Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and would create three pieces of legislation in its place, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (PIDPTA), and the Artificial Intelligence and...