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On 15 January 2010, the Internal Market Directorate General of the European Commission published for consultation a paper by the Centre for European Policy Studies entitled “Tying and other potentially unfair commercial practices in the retail financial service sector“. …
Read More EU: European Commission Publishes Report on Tying and Other Potentially Unfair Commercial Practices in Retail Financial Services

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chaucer’s chief executive officer Bob Stuchbery has indicated that Chaucer will consider redomiciliation out of the UK this year, noting that he would much prefer that Chaucer remained in the UK under a more competitive corporation tax environment. 

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Read More Chaucer Latest Lloyd’s Entity to Consider New Domicile

As previously reported here, the European Commission (the Commission) published its revised draft BER for the insurance sector on 5 October 2009.  Regular followers of the blog will recall that the draft regulation proposes to renew two of the four categories of agreements exempted by the current BER, namely information exchange and insurance pools, with certain amendments. 

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Read More EU: Revised Draft Block Exemption Regulation (BER) for Insurance Sector – End of Consultation Period Looming

On 30 October 2009, the European Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) published a statement reporting on the results of its analysis of the application of disclosure requirements related to financial instruments in the 2008 financial statements of 96 listed European banks and insurers, including 22 in the FTSE Eurotop index. 

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Read More EU: Committee of European Securities Regulators Publishes its Analysis of Financial Instruments Disclosures

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recently released its judgment in the case of Swiss Re Germany Holding GmbH v Finanzamt München für Körperschaften, confirming that a transfer of a portfolio of life reinsurance contracts, outside of a business transfer, will be subject to value-added tax (VAT) at the standard rate. 

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Read More EU: European Ruling on VAT Goes Against Reinsurers

In December 2008, Michael Foot (formerly of the Bank of England, the FSA and the Central Bank of the Bahamas) was appointed by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to identify the opportunities and challenges facing the British Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey) and six Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands). 

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Read More UK: Foot Report on British Offshore Financial Centres Published