The disaster at the FSA "There is no tripartite regulation any more. I've been in those meetings and the FSA just sits in the corner"
A&O helps SocGen refinance; First India investment by Morgan Stanley; Lovells on oil exploration in Indonesia
Central regulation of European banks? Basel may provide the model for regulatory cooperation, with the help of a college of supervisors
Blame distributors for structured finance Banks' counsel point the finger at distributors for how structured finance was sold in Asia. That won't save banks from the litigation and regulation fallout
How to apportion blame Paul Browne and Charles Mayo of Simmons & Simmons analyse the reaction of banks in Asia to structured product disclosure, and other results of the Bankers' Counsel Poll
Capitalism's advocate Aaron Goach of Merrill Lynch on how law supports the free market and helped him launch a business from the back of his car
The abc of 2009 Liability management, bank capitalisation and hedge funds are the themes for 2009. Rachel Evans, Elizabeth Fournier, Nicholas Pettifer and Kyle Siskey make 17 predictions for the year ahead
Bonds must be financed, whatever the cost Companies would like to buyback their debt but worry about opaque market abuse rules. The other options aren't great
Federal Reserve will help distressed bank takeovers Distressed-asset acquisitions will boom as more private equity firms take advantage of relaxed bank-holding requirements from the US Federal Reserve
Only cases can clarify merger clearance Guidelines on the Law were overdue and very welcome. But the Coca-Cola takeover will be the event to watch in 2009
Insolvency will depend on politics Foreign investors will try to avoid unsophisticated civil courts imposing antique bankruptcy statutes
New Basel will modify, not overhaul The year for banks' compliance teams will be spent adapting to new Basel proposals. It could have been a lot worse though
Foreign-cubed case rejected The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that US securities laws have no extraterritorial application to a foreign corporation
90A: Fuel for litigation The UK implementation of the Transparency Directive opens the way for US-style stock-drop litigation. Investors are busy lining up candidates
A unique way to avoid volatility The acquisition of British Energy featured unique CVRs that could be a model for future deals in uncertain markets
A tax on UK financing Tax changes could make leveraged finance deals in the UK more expensive. But it may also encourage multinationals to set up there
Tweaks to a sound system The Basel Committee's proposed adjustments are in stark contrast to the Commission's hurried additions
US: tell us who your clients are Securities firms outside the US now have to reveal to Ofac who their clients are. Singapore is a good example of how tricky this will be
Don't regulate hedge funds The Madoff scandal creates no credible arguments for greater European regulation of hedge funds. The responsibility lies with investors and fund managers
Not much help to creditors France's changes to its insolvency rules have done very little for secured creditors. That is a shame - it would have helped credit in a market that sorely needs it
Reforms to benefit everyone The need to improve borrowers' rights when a lender defaults has been shown up by the credit crisis. Syndicates should consider these reforms in their next deal
A tough year to succeed in M&A The 2008 rankings for law firm performance in M&A, private equity and corporate work reveal which law firms have adapted best to a turning market
Can private equity benefit? M&A financing rules in China will make domestic deals easier, but only by Chinese persons and only within one industry
We await LMA amendments The argument that agent banks faced with an insolvency in their syndicate can use set-off rights to rollover a revolving credit loan is flawed
Reporting was saved by Sox John White, who just stepped down as SEC Director of Corporation Finance, defends Sarbanes-Oxley and looks at what may lie ahead at the SEC
No need for scepticism on Cifir John White, ex-Director of Corporation Finance at the SEC, identifies Cifir recommendations as good ideas and talks about the elephant in the room: proxy access
An obvious fix on credit default swaps The SEC’s departing Director of Corporation Finance, John White, discusses repealing provisions on CDS and argues that court decisions on Pipes have been wrong
Raising equity in a volatile market A review of some of the key structures available in today’s volatile market, with a focus on the LSE Official List
Can private equity benefit? M&A financing rules in China will make domestic deals easier, but only by Chinese persons and only within one industry
You have to be a beneficial owner Does a person have to disclose cooperation with a significant shareholder in a US company even if it doesn’t own shares?
A modern and secure solution The French refinancing plan is an effective and novel way to deal with unprecedented problems
Getting cash back How foreign investors can extract their money from China, and avoid lawsuits for improper withdrawal
Will the structure of Asian convertibles change? Convertible bonds are being restructured with lower conversion premiums, synthetic stock-borrow and more investor protection
