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For years lawyers in The Netherlands have pondered whether a creditor has the option of seizing the unused portion of a line of credit that the creditor's debtor maintains with its bank. It all started in 2001 with the decision of the German Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) dated March 29 2003 answering the question in the affirmative. Almost instantly it was said that the outcome of a Netherlands seizure on the unused portion of a line of credit with a Netherlands bank could be identical or similar to the German conclusion. So all eyes were on the Supreme Court of The Netherlands (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) as the most senior court to settle the matter, which it duly did in a ruling handed down on October 29 2004.

In May 2003, the Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam) decreed that all securities companies must increase their adjusted net working capital to at least Rp25 billion ($2.74 million) by December 31 2004. Only companies with an investment manager licence and certain types of broker-dealer were exempt. The announcement was issued by the chairman through Decree 20 of May 8 2003.

A recent code has modified Belgian rules on conflicts of laws and jurisdiction. Vanessa Marquette, Michèle Grégoire and Sandrine Hirsch outline the main changes in financial law

Law 311 of December 30 2004, which is the Financial Law for 2005 (the 2005 Financial Law), provides for new limits to capacity of Italian local authorities to enter into loans and bonds.

Linda Lerner examines the SEC's sweeping Regulation NMS proposals and argues that a lack of self-reform by the market has made new regulation necessary

The Securities Class Action Act (SCAA), which is the first class action act recognized and implemented in Korea, took effect on January 1 2005. The SCAA permits initiation of class action by shareholders against companies listed on the Korea Stock Exchange or registered on the Kosdaq in connection with, among others, accounting fraud, fraudulent disclosure, stock-price manipulation and insider trading. The SCAA aims to: (i) effectively remedy loss incurred by a group of (minority) shareholders in the course of securities transactions; (ii) alleviate the shareholders' burden of suing on a cause of action as individuals; and (iii) promote transparency in corporate management.

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) plans to establish a new law to regulate financial products and services. Although the details of the law are not yet decided, it is expected to regulate investment services in similar fashion to the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Siegfried Knopf, James Huang and Giselle Barth explain some of the issues that securitization counsel must prepare for as the SEC introduces its landmark ABS rules

Secondary buyouts firmly established in Europe Secondary buyouts have become an established feature of the European leveraged buyout market. Bruce Hanton of Ashurst discusses the legal and tax issues of this popular exit

Luxembourg provides a private equity platform Private equity in Luxembourg has received a boost in the form of new legislation that promotes specialist investment vehicles. Marc Feider of Allen & Overy Luxembourg explains