On August 30, the Central Bank of Brazil (Bacen) published Public Consultation Notice No. 55/2017 to receive comments on a proposed resolution on the establishment and operation of two new types of financial institutions specialized in loan transactions through the medium of an electronic platform: direct lending companies (SCD) and interpersonal lending companies (SEP). The new regulation is expected to be issued by early 2018.

A virtual financial asset very much in vogue, bitcoin is a bet by economists to cheapen transactions, especially those that occur in the international sphere.

On July 25, Brazil’s federal government sent to the National Congress three provisional presidential decrees that reform the mining sector in Brazil. The proposal is to adopt a model that adjusts the reality of this industry in Brazil to the current global economic context and to stimulate revitalization of the sector, seeking greater competitiveness and sharing of mining proceeds. Even so, the initiative has been subject to harsh criticism, especially regarding its burdening of an industry that has been suffering economic slowdown in recent years.

After a severe financial crisis, the shareholders of the concessionaire Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos S.A. (ABV) decided to request the rebidding of the concession contract for the Viracopos Airport based on Law No. 13,488/2017. This will be the first case of this type and opens up a pathway for others that may come to light because of Brazil’s difficult political and economic situation.

The entry into force of Law No. 13,467/2017 (Labor Reform) brings to light a debate already widespread in the US, but very little discussed here in Brazil: the application and enforceability of the clawback clause in employment contracts for executives at publicly traded corporations.

The Brazilian Electric Energy Agency – ANEEL is holding a reserve energy contract cancellation auction, or reverse auction, on August 28, 2017, at 10:00 am, in accordance with the rules of the competitive mechanism announcement published at the end of July. Participation in the auction is a good alternative for eligible generation projects that fail to ensure their deployment viability.