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Pursuant to the Competition Act, one or more undertakings acquiring direct or indirect control over another undertaking or other undertakings qualifies as a concentration and, if certain thresholds are met, is subject to the Competition Office's approval. However, the acquisition of temporary control does not qualify as a concentration and, thus, the Competition Office's approval is not required. This special rule was applied and further interpreted in a recent decision when FOTEX, a holding company acquired interest in FTC, a Hungarian football club.

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 launch of a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) that was 12 months in the making has created a template for asset-backed deals from Taiwan.

The Bank of Italy has made clear to the market its views on the treatment of repayment clauses in securitization transactions.

The recent corporate scandals in the US have, among other things, focussed attention on the issue of the independence of directors generally. In Canada, in the recent Second Cup/Cara decision rendered by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the OSC briefly highlighted the issue of independence with respect to special committee members and advisers.

In turbulent times banks must trust material adverse change clauses to protect them from unforeseen risk. Richard Gray, Patrick Holmes and Kevin Muzilla of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy examine the relative merits of these different arrangements

Hengeler Mueller and Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton have advised on Deutsche Telekom's mandatory convertible bond, only the second to be issued in Germany.

US firm Dechert has completed work on the largest high-yield debt offering in three years.

Clifford Chance has worked on what could be the first Italian whole business securitization, helping Aeroporti di Roma, the group that operates Rome's Fiumicino and Ciampino airports, reduce its debt.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to rule on whether non-US financial institutions should be exempt from a ban on making loans to directors.