Dentons - Bank Notes - Spring 2015

Financing of North Sea oil and gas – a restructuring and insolvency perspective

March 31, 2015

Until recently, there was little call for restructuring and turnaround specialists in the UK to focus on the oil and gas industry. That has now undoubtedly changed. In the second half of 2014, Brent crude prices fell from over US$100 a barrel to around US$50, and although prices have since stabilised (currently near the US$60 mark), a low price environment in the medium term seems likely. That is not bad news for all in the oil and gas industry. But for upstream operators focusing on exploration and production in the North Sea, it presents undoubted challenges, despite the tax concessions George Osborne announced in the March 2015 Budget.

Receivables finance - overriding blocks to assignment

March 31, 2015

The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act received Royal Assent on 26 March and, when implemented, is expected to produce a huge boost in SME receivables finance.

Recent LMA LIBOR related changes - their possible impact on Islamic finance documents

March 31, 2015

At the end of last year, the Loan Market Association (LMA) updated its facility agreements, including changes to the interest rate definitions and mechanics. Many Islamic finance transactions use a conventional interest rate benchmark, such as LIBOR, to calculate the profit or variable rental. Richard de Belder and Adam Pierce explain how one of the recent LMA changes may affect those transactions.

Bitcoin: is it a viable security asset?

March 31, 2015

In its short history, Bitcoin has generated a huge amount of commentary and has polarised views. Some see it as a game-changing, revolutionary form of currency. Others find it hard to see beyond its undoubted immediate problems, in particular its volatile value and its lack of regulation and transparency. Whatever your views, virtual currencies like Bitcoin are unlikely to go away: banks and financial institutions need to understand them, and take them seriously. As more individuals hold virtual currency and more businesses accept them as a form of payment, one question customers are more likely to ask financiers is, "Will you accept Bitcoin (or another virtual currency) as a form of collateral?"