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For years the German banks have lauded the virtues of Pfandbriefe. Now the rest of Europe is catching on. Jim Rice, Andrew Roberts and Katie Kelly look at the progress of the market and the legislation that underpins it

On July 1 2004 the new Act (2004:299) on Deposit Taking entered into force. The Act introduces a set of special requirements for non-financial institutions accepting deposits from the general public. The new Act is part of the modernization of the legislation on banking and financing businesses in Sweden and the abolition of the banks' monopoly on taking deposits.

The Financial Services Authority has modernized its approach to enforcement. Andrew Procter explains how to IFLR's Michael Evans

In January 2003 the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) launched the new version of its standard contract for documenting over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions - the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement. This new version is based on, and amends, its predecessor - the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement.

Throughout late 2003 and early 2004, the Turkish Capital Markets Board (the CMB) promulgated a number of new regulatory acts.

Certain foreign currency transactions between residents and non-residents that involve non-cash settlements will be carried out using special bank accounts under new Russian currency legislation.

From October 1 2004, the disclosure requirements for companies listed on the Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) and Kosdaq will be amended to shorten reporting deadlines, reduce the number of disclosure items, require more specific and detailed disclosures, set up a disclosure review committee, institute a penalty point system for violations, and introduce other steps to prevent and detect disclosure violations.

In June 2004, an advisory board of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) proposed that foreign issuers in Japan be permitted to file certain disclosure documents in English. It aims to attract foreign issuers to the Japanese market by reducing their costs of preparing disclosure documents in Japanese.

The government of India has introduced a Tonnage Tax Scheme (TTS) for Indian shipping companies, through the Financial Bill 2004, presented to the parliament on July 8.

To improve competitiveness with its neighboring countries, Indonesia is now in the process of amending its income tax law. If implemented, these amendments would boost tax revenues in the long run. A downside to this effort is that reduced income tax revenues will be incurred in the short term. The finance department of Indonesia has calculated that almost Rp5 trillion ($557 million) would be lost if the amendment were effected immediately. Because of this unpopular short-term result, the government is not expected to pass this law until the presidential election is complete in September 2004.