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A deal between European finance ministers on Europe's Transparency Directive means foreign issuers could face bills of up to $10 million as they struggle to comply with international accounting standards (IAS). All issuers of listed securities in the EU will have to publish reports using IAS when the accounting rules come into force in 2006. Earlier on in the month ministers voted out a requirement in the Directive for quarterly reporting from corporates operating in Europe.

Competition in Russia's financial market is regulated by the Federal Law No 117-FZ, which came into effect on December 29 2001. It governs both Russian or foreign (operating in Russia) banking, insurance and leasing companies, non-state pension funds, professional participants of the securities market and other entities rendering financial services.

Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) have been de-recognized as a separate class of investor entity in India and will now be treated the same as any other foreign incorporated company. This decision follows a review by India's Reserve Bank of the investment activities of OCBs, based on the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security Market Scams.

Ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's have both issued reports criticizing credit derivatives.

After a six-year legislative process, the Austrian Parliament has enacted the Substitution of Equity Act (Eigenkapitalersatz-Gesetz (EKEG)), which will come into force on January 1 2004. The Act deals with the concept of a shareholder loan that replaces equity and is treated as equity (Eigenkapitalersatz) when a company is in financial crisis - a peculiarity of German and Austrian corporate law. In the absence of explicit statutory provisions, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof (OGH)) has so far applied a modified approach of German law principles to shareholder loans substituting equity (eigenkapitalersetzende Gesellschafterdarlehen).

New legislation should help promote the development of asset-backed financings in Russia. By Vladimir Dragunov

New securities laws aim to bring international standards of transparency to Russia's capital markets. Andrey Yakushin explains

Local law means bankers cannot rely on security trustees in syndicated deals. John Balsdon and Liza Ivanova review the alternatives

During financial downturns, banks and financial institutions are usually faced with the problem of non-performing loans. One way to deal with them is to create asset management companies (AMCs). The two pieces of legislation in the Turkish legal system regulating AMCs are Law No 4743 on the Restructuring of Debts in the Financial Sector and Amending Certain Laws and the Regulation on the Establishment and Operation of Asset Management Companies. Law No 4743, which was enacted as a result of the two financial crises in November 2000 and February 2001, introduced the concept of AMCs to the Turkish legal system.

Foreigners are showing interest in buying non-tradeable shares in domestically listed companies, but political ambivalence and a vague legal and regulatory framework are holding things up. By Doug Markel