The failure of subprime mortgage loans in the US was a catalyst for the last and truly global financial crisis, and, in the opening article of our international review, we examine whether the growth in US subprime auto loans is a cause for concern. Michael Lewis's Flash Boys did more than hit the bestseller lists; it was the touch paper for a raft of regulatory activity and civil suits in the US relating to High Frequency Trading.
Whilst there is no doubt that enhanced regulatory oversight continues apace in a number of jurisdictions (the UK's Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, the FCA's first use of its product intervention powers in relation to CoCos and Hong Kong's Stock Exchange consultation on changes to the Listing Rules intended to increase transparency and accountability are three examples covered in this review), care must be taken not to oversimplify at the expense of understanding local complexities. The contrast between the approach taken by regulators in the US and UK in relation to LIBOR and by MAS in dealing with SIBOR in Singapore is just one example.
However, there remains much to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions, and the lack of clarity in how to apply proportionate liability in claims against financial services professionals in Australia will no doubt be instructive elsewhere.
Likewise, in this review, we also take a look at the current status of the RBS and Lloyd's shareholder actions in the UK and at a number of decisions impacting on the collective actions landscape in Canada. In Canada, the Courts were influenced by US and UK jurisprudence in deciding whether to assert jurisdiction over a class action brought against a UK company in relation to securities purchased on an exchange outside of Canada.
We close with a review of China (developments in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone), the Middle East (where the DIFC showed a willingness to look beyond formal legal structures and exercise jurisdiction over a non DIFC regulated entity in a mis-selling claim) and Africa (where long tail liabilities related to silicosis may catch D&O insurers unawares).
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