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Canadian regulators are planning to clarify and toughen rules on insider reporting.

The statistics for 2002 published by the Capital Markets Board revealed a noteworthy growth in the number of foreign funds that entered the market. In fact, 19 different foreign funds' securities were issued last year, thus boosting the total number of foreign mutual funds with interests being traded in Turkey to 40 since 1997.

The potential bankruptcy of a Russian company has long troubled those investing in the country, as loopholes in the previous bankruptcy laws have led to the use of bankruptcy as a takeover device and other abuses. On December 3 2002, a new Law On Bankruptcy (Insolvency) took effect. In general, the new law is debtor-friendly and was drafted to stop abuses. However, it does not address all the existing problems and its effectiveness remains untested. Some of the noteworthy provisions of the new law are outlined below.

Certain amendments to Finland's Act on Credit Institutions (the ACI) and the Act on Investment Firms (the AIF) became effective on February 15 2003. The amendments mainly relate to improving banking and payment services as well as their availability. Although most amendments are mainly structural, they also include regulation on for example the use of agents in providing banking services, the right to receive repayable funds from customers and the right to basic banking services.

The recent admission of accounting irregularities at Ahold shows Sarbanes-Oxley is having a positive effect on audit and corporate governance standards.

Recent rule-making by US regulators is placing tougher reporting restrictions on non-US issuers with shares traded in the US. Douglas Tanner of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy explains what corporates should know about these requirements and how to avoid unnecessary burdens

Frederick Feldkamp of Foley & Lardner says new accounting rules on the consolidation of variable interest entities show the US has learned from the Enron disaster. These rules could even enhance the prospects of the US securitization market

Portugal will soon have a legal diploma foreseeing and regulating undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities (Ucits) under statute through the form of securities investment companies with variable capital (SICAV) and securities investment companies with fixed capital (SICAF).

In a strongly worded January 2003 report, the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations stated that, by the end of this year, the SEC and US bank regulators should take action to preclude abusive structured finance transactions. The report applauds the use of structured finance to lower funding costs and diversify risk (true asset securitizations) but virtually demands the termination of false liability securitizations. False securitizations attenuate risk and hide assets and liabilities from investor and regulatory scrutiny.

The Cayman Islands has always been responsive to the needs of the international financial community in introducing expedient legislation. Last year saw the creation of the segregated portfolio company (SPC) by way of amendment to the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands, and now revisions in 2003 will make it a more attractive corporate vehicle for mutual funds and multi-issuer structured finance vehicles. Provisions that have caused difficulties in obtaining a rating for structured finance deals will be removed and a mechanism introduced to enable any existing Cayman Islands company to convert into an SPC. The key points are described below.