European Union: The CRA Regulation and private credit ratings

The CRA Regulation does not apply to "private credit ratings produced pursuant to an individual order and provided exclusively to the person who placed the order and which are not intended for public disclosure or distribution by subscription" (article 2(2)). 

Guidelines published in 2013 (here, pdf) noted that there were some circumstances in which a private rating could be shared with a limited number of third parties on a strictly confidential basis. Uncertainty, nevertheless, remained - but perhaps for not much longer because the European Securities and Markets Authority has published, for consultation, amendments to the Guidelines: see here (pdf). These focus on key elements in article 2(2) - including "produced pursuant to an individual order" and "provided exclusively to the person who placed the order" - as well as the 2013 Guidelines, in particular by defining "limited number of third parties" by reference to an upper limit of 150 natural persons.

Australia: ASIC's corporate governance priorities

Joseph Longo, the chair of Australia's Securities and Investment Commission, has delivered a speech setting out the regulator's corporate governance priorities for the year ahead: see here. Included are cyber risks and whistleblowing.

UK: The Finance Act 2022

A copy of the Finance Act 2022, which received Royal Assent last month, has been published: see here or  here (pdf). The materials accompanying the Act when it was, as a Bill, before Parliament are available here.

Amongst the provisions in the Act, the following are - for me - particularly noteworthy: sections 7 and 8 (replacing the current system of basis periods, and introducing a new method through which self-employment income/profits are allocated to tax years); sections 53 to 66 (the framework introducing the new Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) levy); section 85 (providing HMRC officers with the power to seek the winding-up of a company, in the public interest, to protect the public revenue); and section 96 (the introduction of a new disclosure requirement, for large businesses, in respect of the 'uncertain tax treatment' of items in a tax return). 

UK: The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022

The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022 was introduced in the House of Commons today, receiving its first reading: see here. In broad outline, the Bill provides for the introduction of a register of overseas entities owning land in the United Kingdom; it also makes changes to the way in which unexplained wealth orders operate.

A copy of the Bill, as introduced, is available here (pdf). The Bill is accompanied by explanatory notes (here, pdf), two impact assessments (here and here, pdf) and two memoranda - one concerning human rights (here, pdf), the other concerning delegated powers (here, pdf). 

UK: Corporate Transparency and Register Reform - white paper published

The Government has published its corporate transparency and register reform white paper: see here (pdf). As explained in the consultations preceding the white paper, the intention is to improve the quality and accuracy of information held on the register of companies by, for example, the introduction of new identity checks and providing the Registrar with new powers, include a power of query.