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The difficult economic situation in Europe has increased the focus on bank deleveraging. In Ireland, this is just the latest phase in a process which has seen Irish banks dispose of significant non-core assets located outside Ireland throughout 2011 and 2012. In 2013, the focus will shift to Irish assets and, in particular, loan portfolios connected with Irish real estate. Frequently, these portfolios involve multiple privately-owned companies and investment structures with individuals participating as borrowers and guarantors. The Irish tax system and the real estate focus of the loans means that Irish loan acquisition vehicles offer some distinct advantages over non-Irish vehicles.

Shadow banking won’t be as elusive

Chisom Udechukwu In the face of rapid globalisation, the fundamental objective of corporate restructuring is to reposition an organisation against the high tide of business failure and maximise shareholder value. Some obvious reasons for corporate restructuring include the need for greater competitiveness, increased profitability, diversification and/or compliance with regulatory or statutory provisions. Corporate restructuring is typically divided into two main categories differentiated in terms of expansion or divestment technique. Srivastava and Mushtaq argue in the Asian Journal of Technology & Management Research (Vol. 01 – Issue 01, Jan–Jun 2011) that expansion techniques include mergers, takeovers, franchising, intellectual property rights acquisitions and holding company arrangements, whereas divestment techniques encompass sell offs, de-mergers, slump sales, management buy-outs, arrangements on sale and compromise. They argue for a third class of restructuring which includes share repurchasing, management buy in, reverse merger and equity carve-out.

Few would name the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as a class leading, benchmark-setting regulator when it comes to enforcement of the securities law. Over 90% of new cases launched against alleged violators are by way of administrative action, and the balance by way of criminal prosecution in courts. Sebi's perception as an effective regulator is often wrongly criticised. The criticism arises from two pieces of what's deemed as evidence. First newspaper reports which discuss the overruling of Sebi's administrative findings by the appellate authority. Second, the perception that Sebi brings too few people to book to be able to act as a disincentive to other wrongdoers.

Hear the Bank of England's Andrew Haldane speak and you could be forgiven for assuming the banking sector circa 1980 was something of a financial utopia. His most recent interview with BBC Radio 4's The World at One is a case in point.

What does the Canadian government’s initial rejection of the Petronas/Progress deal signal for SOE investment, and Cnooc’s bid for Nexen?

The IFLR1000’s 2013 law firm rankings reveal a cautious market that’s strategising for better days

Foreign investors will soon be landing

Governments could have a tougher time agreeing restructuring plans with creditors following a landmark US court ruling on Argentina's sovereign debt default of 2001.

Structured products, securitisations and commodity pools must navigate a patchwork of Dodd-Frank regulations. But recent interpretive guidance means all is not lost