By Nick Miles

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (the BMA) has published a new statement of practice (SoP).  It sets out factors to which it will have regard and procedures to be followed in deciding whether and in what manner to exercise powers granted under the following four statutes that regulate financial sectors in Bermuda:

• The Insurance Act 1978
• The Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999
• The Investment Business Act 2003
• The Trusts (Regulation of Trust Business) Act 2001

A full analysis of the SoP and the BMA’s powers can be found in our Insurance News Flash published today.

By Greg Lahr

For our readers who are keeping tabs on developments in the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) industry, we thought you would be interested in Sedgwick’s latest Hydraulic Fracturing News Flash regarding a recent proposal in California to regulate fracking, which can be viewed here.

Here are some recent developments that we are following in other states:

In New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) has prepared a Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (“SGEIS”) on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program. The SGEIS pertains to issuing well permits for horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing for extracting oil and natural gas from the Marcellus Shale and other low-permeability gas reservoirs. Since making the SGEIS available for public review in September 2011, the DEC has drafted proposed regulations, which are available for comments from December 12, 2012 to January 11, 2013. At least until the regulations are finalized, it appears that the DEC’s moratorium on issuing well permits for horizontal drilling and fracking will continue.

In Pennsylvania, appellate review of the constitutionality of Act 13 of 2012 (“Act 13”), 58 Pa. C.S. §§ 2301 et seq. (signed into law on February 14, 2012), continues with the filing of appellate briefs to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in September 2012. According to the General Assembly, Act 13 broadly reformed the laws that govern the development of oil and gas resources in Pennsylvania by establishing uniformity and promoting growth in the industry though the pre-emption of local ordinances that impose conditions or limitations on oil and gas operations. The General Assembly intended to allow oil and gas development as a permitted use in any zoning district, and mandate that restrictions placed on oil and gas development by municipalities be no greater than those placed on other industrial uses. A number of municipalities sought a declaratory judgment that Act 13 is unconstitutional, and requested that the Act be permanently enjoined. After the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed preliminary objections based primarily on standing and justiciability grounds, the municipalities filed a motion for summary judgment. On July 12, 2012, the Commonwealth Court issued a decision that granted in part and denied in part the summary judgment motion, and in part sustained the Attorney General’s objections. Significantly, the court declared a section of Act 13, which provides for uniformity of local ordinances, to be unconstitutional. Cross-appeals were filed by the municipalities and the Attorney General.

In New Jersey, a one-year moratorium on fracking signed by Governor Christie is set to expire in January 2013. However, a New Jersey assemblyman is currently sponsoring legislation that would extend the ban on fracking until the state Department of Environmental Protection reviews the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s study on the effects of fracking, which may not be out in final form until 2014.

UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, is set to become the second financial institution to enter into a settlement arising out of the Libor rate-fixing scandal.  The potential agreement would reportedly allow UBS to pay approximately $1 billion to settle allegations that it attempted to rig various interbank interest rates to increase trading profits.  The deal would resolve investigations conducted by certain U.S., British and Swiss regulators, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and the U.K. Financial Services Authority.  UBS is expected to make the announcement next week, as early as Monday. 

Although UBS was granted leniency for cooperating with investigators, this fine is more than double the $450 million paid by Barclays earlier this year to settle its role in the Libor scandal. The Libor rate is used to set borrowing rates for over $350 trillion worth of lending contracts worldwide.  The Libor probe has involved approximately 20 of the biggest banks across three continents, involving regulators from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan.  Recently, British prosecutors arrested several individuals as part of a criminal investigation into rate manipulation.  One of these individuals, Thomas Hayes, is a former UBS trader employed with the bank from 2006 to 2009.  UBS is also facing investigations from the Canadian Competition Bureau, the Attorneys General of Connecticut and New York, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.  It was not immediately clear whether the Canadian Libor probe would be part of the imminent settlement.

The Libor settlement is just one of the problems encountered by UBS over the past year.  Earlier this year, a rogue UBS trader cost the company $377 million before being jailed, and UBS reportedly had some involvement in issues arising out of the Facebook IPO.  More recently, the company announced that it would lay off 10,000 employees as part of its efforts to wind down a significant part of the investment bank. (“UBS faces $1bn fine over Libor allegations,” CNN.com, December 14, 2012;  “UBS in Talks Over $1 Billion Penalty,” The Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2012; “UBS faces $1 billion fine for Libor rigging,” Reuters, December 13, 2012).