Nick Merritt

2 months ago | financederivative.com | Nick Merritt

By Nick Merritt, Executive Director at Designit (UK)The dust is settling on a frantic start of the year for financial services, giving us a clearer view of what lies aheadI’m a movie fan, so indulge me. If financial services were a genre, it would be part sci-fi thriller, maybe a bit of romcom, and unfortunately for the squeamish, it can veer into a horror flick. Why is the sector genre-spanning? Because change is constant.

Jun 12, 2024 | connections.nortonrosefulbright.com | Nick Merritt |Holly Stebbing

The Voluntary Carbon Markets could play a vital role in the energy transition with some estimating the industry will be worth US$250bn by 2030. However, the VCMs are still relatively new and largely unregulated, with differing standards and methodologies for carbon accounting, which leaves the market vulnerable to litigation risk. As part of LIDW, I was joined on this panel by colleagues from across the legal industry to discuss some of the disputes risk facing those participating in the market.

Jun 9, 2024 | mondaq.com | Nick Merritt

Urban mining allows us to salvage materials of which there is a finite supply, and limits the environmental impact of their disposal. Crucially, it also avoids extraction of additional materials, which damages ecosystems and can cause pollution, among other things. Think about the city. It is typically an aggregation of things - people, buildings, infrastructure and vehicles. The city is a magnet of consumption.

Jun 4, 2024 | mondaq.com | Nick Merritt

When the auditor realised the bank had uncollectable debts meaning its receivables were overvalued, the Chairman assured the auditor it would be raised at the forthcoming AGM, and so the auditor gave an unqualified report on the accounts. When the Chairman failed to deal with the matter at the AGM, the bank collapsed. A court later found that the auditor had a duty of care to the shareholders. The year? 1895, and the bank, was the London and General Bank.

May 29, 2024 | mondaq.com | Nick Merritt

Thanks to Scott, Sarah and Francisco for their recent and thoughtful piece on the growing dichotomy between ESG and directors' duties. The article reminds me of the debate handily summarized by the title of this piece which is a challenge to the 1970's theory of Milton Friedman, that a corporate's "greatest responsibility lies in the satisfaction of the shareholders", in other words, a director's sole duty is to maximise profit.