The title of this last of three posts today is a little misleading, because it would probably need a dedicated team to keep up-to-date on the case of Carlos Ghosn. In November 2018 we heard from Oluwarotimi Adeniyi-Akintola of Aston Law School how Carlos Ghosn had been accused of financial improprieties and the falsification of securities reports or, as The Independent put it, Nissan had found that he had engaged in the personal use of company money and had under-reported his income in violation of Japanese law . However, since then, the case has taken an almost soap-opera style turn and today, in front of a packed room of reporters in Lebanon, the former Chair of the Nissan Alliance put forward his case as to why he had circumvented the conditions of his House Arrest in Japan and fled to Lebanon . After being charged by Japanese authorities last year, Ghosn had posted a £6.8 million bail in April. Owing to his abilities and connections, the bail deal was structured so that he

We have covered the automotive industry on a number of occasions here in Financial Regulation Matters , ranging from posts on emissions-related scandals and issues with the leadership of some of the industry’s largest companies (via Oluwarotimi Adeniyi-Akintola ) to the increased focus on the electrification of the industry . In today’s post however, we shall focus on the current state of the British automotive industry and examine whether the current issues impacting the industry are related to Brexit, as most of the press suggests, or to deeper-rooted issues that may fundamentally affect the future of the industry in the UK. The subject of the auto industry in the post-Brexit era is a complex one. There are materials that are available, and indeed incredibly useful, in order to gain a solid understanding of the issues – see the excellent Keeping the Wheels on the Road: UK Auto Post-Brexit developed by Prof. David Bailey @dgbailey and others as part of the Bite-Sized Brexit

As part of this author’s research on the Principles for Responsible Investment , the concept of ESG consideration has been analysed in relation to its importance to development of more forward-looking and sustainable investment practices. In this post, we will look at whether Environmental, Social, and Governance’ (ESG) principles are followed in full, or whether there is still some resistance to incorporating all of the concept. There is a suggestion that only certain elements are ‘material’, but recent news suggests that it is sometimes, or even often, unwise to separate the three components. In reviewing the two particular reports generated by the PRI concerning the impact of ESG on credit analysis (the first one is available here , and the second here ), it quickly becomes apparent that, for the Credit rating agencies (CRAs), the concept of ‘G’overnance is the most material aspect. Yet, the CRAs make a point of the Volkswagen emissions scandal to demonstrate where the diff