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In connection with the bankruptcy of a regional savings and loan association at the beginning of the 1990s, a whole string of problems under the Swiss law governing the liquidation and capital reconstruction of banks came to light. The Swiss Federal Council has now proposed to parliament a revision of the law that would create a capital reconstruction and liquidation proceeding tailored to individual cases and would also coordinate the areas of capital reconstruction and liquidation with bank supervision. The new law would place all three areas under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Swiss Federal Bank Commission (SFBC).

Spain's new Law 44/2002 on Reform Measures of the Financial System - in which many surprises can be found - has finally been issued. It was published on November 23 in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE no 281). Except for matters specified in Final Disposition number 3 (Disposición Final 3ª), the bulk of the Law is enforceable from the day after publication.

The Indian parliament passed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Amendment) Bill 2002 on December 2, giving more powers - including search and seizure rights - to SEBI. The amendments introduce new standards for investor protection and regulation of the securities market.

Reforms to Russia's bankruptcy and insolvency proceeds should be paving the way to Russian prosperity, but good intentions are being undermined by less sophisticated thinking. Thomas Williams reports from Moscow

Ben Maiden reports from New York on reaction to the appointment of Harvey Pitt's replacement as SEC chairman

By Thomas Williams

The Hungarian Supreme Court has issued a second judgement (BH 2002.364) confirming that assignments by way of security do not survive the assignor's insolvency. Although Supreme Court judgements are not binding as precedent, two recent judgements on this issue cast considerable doubt on the effectiveness of existing methods of taking security over rights and claims.

Since 1996, any entity buying shares in a formerly state-owned enterprise as a result of privatization was excluded from the mandatory buyout obligation (the so-called privatization exemption), set out in the Czech Commercial Code. The mandatory buyout provision of the Code said that anyone buying shares above a specified threshold (including a controlling interest) must offer to buy the shares of minority shareholders.

The SEC has issued the first enforcement actions under its disclosure rules. The cases point to some of the difficulties in applying Regulation Fair Disclosure but should help issuers understand the types of activities it forbids. Leslie Silverman and SK Kang of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, New York, and Sebastian Sperber and James Small in Hong Kong explain

Simon Orton of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer looks at how the UK's new regulator has performed during its first 12 months, and predicts where it will focus attention in 2003