The Coronavirus emergency is having a deep impact on global economy and the relevant finance documentation. The financial markets and banking sector are dealing with this disruption and the relevant financial Regulatory Authorities and industry association are approaching matter through the adoption of specific provisions or circulars and issuing focused guidelines. In this section you will find all related articles and updates. (contents are in Italian and English)

Liquidity Decree converted into law: the new features of the “Sace guarantee” (in Italian)

05/06/2020 - This article highlights the most important amendments related to the loan guarantees granted by SACE, the Italian export credit finance agency and the criticalities that should be addressed in order to ease the activation of this measure.

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Temporary suspension of provisions relating to equity recapitalization introduced by the Liquidity Decree – implications on Covenants and Events of Default clauses under financing agreements (in Italian)

16/04/2020 - By means of the “Liquidity Decree”, the Italian government introduced the temporary suspension of provisions relating to equity recapitalization set forth under the Italian Civil Code. This section summarizes some preliminary thoughts relative to the applicability of such suspension with a focus on its impact on Covenants and Events of Default clauses under financing agreements.

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Shareholders’ loans – specific provisions introduced by the Liquidity Decree (in Italian)

16/04/2020 - The “Liquidity Decree” provides for a temporary suspension of provisions subordinating shareholders’ loans in case of bankruptcy set forth under the Italian Civil Code. This section provides for a brief analysis of such measure and raises some concerns about its actual suitability at encouraging shareholders in boosting company finances.

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MAC/MAE event of default provisions in loan agreements in Italy – Implications of COVID-19

06/04/2020 - MAC/MAE provisions in loan agreements and commitment documents. How these clauses work, what is the typical structure and what are the implications following outbreak of COVID-19.

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EIOPA – further actions for insurers and intermediaries to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on consumers

06/04/2020 - EIOPA, following earlier actions undertaken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the EU insurance sector, published a new statement on April 1, 2020, calling on insurance market participants to take further measures to protect consumers.

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CONSOB - Extension of deadlines for intermediaries

26/03/2020 - Consob has decided (by means of Resolution no. 21314 of 25 March 2020) to grant intermediaries a 60-day extension for the terms relating to the sending of the report on how to perform the services and the report on the organizational structure envisaged by Resolution 17297/2010. The decision has been made in light of the containment measures taken by the government to deal with the Coronavirus emergency. The restrictions in force could in fact preclude supervised entities from the timely fulfillment of the regulatory obligations.

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Bank of Italy: extension of certain terms and other temporary measures regarding the COVID-19 health emergency

24/03/2020 - The Italian Banking Supervisory Authority has adopted a series of measures aimed at facilitating the performance of the activities of banks and supervised non-bank intermediaries, in the context of the ongoing health emergency.In particular, the provision establishes the extension, for a variable duration, of some regulatory reporting obligations.It is also permitted, now also to less significant banks and in line with what the ECB has decided for significant banks, to temporarily operate below the target component level assigned following the SREP process (i.e. Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process), of the capital buffer and liquidity coverage ratio buffer.

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Emergency management and communications with the Supervisory Authorities

16/03/2020 - Banks and intermediaries may suffer the current insufficiency of their emergency and contingency plan in the course of the public health emergency related to COVID-19. Probably, the relevant forecasts do not cover the actual effects. In this context, it appears useful to establish a dialogue with the Supervisory Authorities, both to communicate in advance the solutions not provided for in such plans, and to formulate specific questions aimed at identifying the appropriate solutions in the presence of interpretative doubts.

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COVIP - Indications following the adoption of emergency measures for containment and management of the public health emergency related to COVID-19

16/03/2020 - COVIP (Pension Funds Supervisory Commission) has provided the supplementary pension schemes with certain indications following the adoption of the urgent measures for the containment and management of the public health emergency related to COVID-19, referred to in the Decree-Law of 23 February 2020 and subsequent Prime Ministerial Decrees.

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Potential impact on derivatives, repo and stock lending of the measures adopted due to COVID-19 (in Italian)

12/03/2020 - The health emergency due to COVID-19 and the related measures adopted by the governments so far to contain the contagion may have an impact on the documentation in place for trading in derivatives, repo and stock lending. In particular, reporting obligations and the serving of notices could be impacted and certain clauses, such as market disruption events or force majeure could be triggered.

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