FI And D&O International Review - July 2017

James Cooper, Partner, London

We have commented in previous editions of this Review on the impact that developments in one jurisdiction can have in another. This edition is no exception: at the time of going to press, the Financial Stability Board had recently announced that it believes that the United Kingdom's Senior Manager and Certification regime is ripe for expansion elsewhere. The impact of the United States' Supreme Court decision in Morrison continues to unfold as a series of cases have debated the exact parameters of that "F-cubed" decision. Its impact can also be seen in the development of collective shareholder actions, and we examine whether "Dieselgate" will be a game changer in Germany. Development of class actions continues apace elsewhere, and we also look at proposals for a regime for claims against listed companies in Saudi Arabia.

Exposures for directors, financial institutions and their insurers continue to develop. We examine the first disqualification of a director by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK, the rise in criminal prosecutions brought by the Australian financial regulator ASIC and the Tata-Cyrus Mistry fall-out in India. At Clyde and Co we have been tracking developments in environmental and climate change related exposures for directors, pension trustees, investment managers, and other financial services professionals and entities, and we examine developments in South Africa on this issue.

We also take a look at the insurance landscape, including proposals for consideration of the current PII arrangements for regulated firms in the UK, radical proposals and an important decision on conditions precedent in Singapore.

EUROPE

The first disqualification of a director by the CMA

Mark Sutton, Partner, London Karen Boto, Legal Director, London

Financial penalties being imposed on companies for breaches of competition law is relatively common place. However, there can also be adverse consequences for the directors involved, as a decision reached by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently demonstrated.

In December 2016, the CMA announced that it had secured its first director disqualification undertaking. This decision sends a clear message that those individuals who show disregard for the law will be punished.

The Power to Disqualify Directors

Since 2003, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has had the power, under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (the Act), to...