Readers of our STEP International News Digests showed a marked interest in the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) during the fourth quarter of 2015. In case you missed them, here are the top ten items: Barclays fined heavily for due diligence failure: The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Barclays Bank GBP72 million for… Read More STEP International News Digest wrap-up – fourth quarter 2015 top stories

I used to understand the Succession Regulation, but now I am not so sure. The EU Commission put together an excellent conference in Brussels on 19 November, on the subject, which many STEP members attended. Although several interesting individual topics were covered, the overriding impression I obtained was that we are all still looking at… Read More Quantum of Success

The Financial Stability Board is probably the most powerful body nobody has heard of. It was set up by the G20 after the financial crisis and is drawn largely from central bankers. One of the issues it has focused on is effective monitoring of counterparty risk in financial markets. In a process most bureaucrats will… Read More Have you sorted your LEIs?

Lord Lucan has been back in the news, with his son’s bid to inherit the title from his father, who disappeared in 1974 after the family nanny was found murdered. But it throws into sharp focus the plight of around 30 – 40 families a year who lose a family member but are unable to prove… Read More Lord Lucan is presumed dead, but what about other missing people?

Most STEP members, almost wherever they are based, would probably agree that we are facing a real risk of bureaucratic meltdown. Practitioners have only just negotiated the joys of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, FATCA, but they must now focus on the Common Reporting Standard, CRS (not forgetting the UK/Crown Dependencies and Overseas… Read More Money laundering and ‘The Red Tape Challenge’

This week the IRS confirmed that it has begun fulfilling its obligations to those jurisdictions with which the US government has signed a Model 1A inter-governmental agreement. Under the reciprocal exchange accords, it has transmitted information on those who are tax resident outside the US to the relevant national tax authorities. This puts the spotlight… Read More The US’s status under the CRS

The Private Client industry continues to grow as a legal area and demand for private client legal services will only increase as the UK’s demographics change. It is good news, then, that a new apprenticeship in probate has been approved. The apprenticeships will open the door to a younger and more diverse labour pool than… Read More Specialist apprenticeships on the way

The EU Succession Regulation comes into force today, giving much more freedom to families as to how they pass on assets they own in the EU in their wills. This could be particularly important for UK families with holiday homes in the EU or for those with parents and grandparents living in the EU. George… Read More New EU rules give UK families more freedom over legacies

Argentina topped our most read stories from the region last month, with changes to trust law and a succession ruling of most interest. In case you missed them, here are the top five: Regulation of Argentine trusts under the new Civil and Commercial Code: On August 1, 2015, a new civil and commercial code (the… Read More STEP LatAm News Digest wrap-up – July’s top stories

Presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders’ bid to increase estate taxes for the wealthiest proved of particular interest to our US readers. The top five news items for July follow, in case you missed them: US presidential candidate proposes increasing taxes on wealthiest: Presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, introduced on June 25 the Responsible… Read More STEP US News Digest wrap-up – July’s top stories