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Hungary has recently adopted several amendments to Act CXII of 1996 on credit institutions (the Banking Act) and Act CXX of 2001 on capital markets (CMA). The Acts provide an integrated legal framework for the activities of financial and investment service providers and their supervision. The changes were triggered by comments from market participants and practitioners and also by the EU accession requirements.

Rules requiring companies to report Gaap equivalents to their non-Gaap numbers could bury useful information among confusing detail and discourage management from providing certain data in SEC filings. It may be investors who suffer, says David Bernstein, of Clifford Chance, New York

The Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) has issued an Ordinance concerning the Prevention of Money Laundering (December 18 2002). The Ordinance introduces stricter due diligence obligations in the case of higher risk business relationships. But in all other business relationships the standard identification procedure still prevails as contained in the revised Due Diligence Agreement (CDB 03) published by the Swiss Bankers Association on January 17 2003 (see www.swissbanking.org). The content of the Ordinance is similar to its draft version, released last summer and already summarized in IFLR (November 2002, Vol. XXI 11, p63). This report pinpoints three of the most significant changes between the draft and the final version and briefly presents the implementation schedule financial intermediaries must comply with.

In order to further develop the Colombian financial market, new regulations have been enacted over recent years, creating a regulatory framework that is becoming more responsive to international and national market dynamics. With this in mind, it is worth considering the more innovative structures now used in banking, especially, tier two capital debt for credit establishments.

Oil company BP last month gave Russia's recovery a boost when it announced a £4.2 billion ($6.8 billion) joint venture with the country's third-largest oil company TNK.

Ratings agency Moody's says the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)'s recent guidance for special purpose vehicles won't affect ratings for US banks.

Secondary legislation to amend insolvency reforms in the UK Enterprise Act will extend administrative receivership rights to complex structured finance deals.

Scandinavian telecoms operator Song Networks has restructured its $550 million high-yield bonds, the first bond restructuring of a Swedish-listed company.

The French stock market regulator will decide next month whether or not to overturn its temporary ban on mandatory convertibles.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer won eight awards, including IFLR European Law Firm of the Year, at International Financial Law Review's awards dinner last night. The UK firm clinched the overall award for its work in capital markets, M&A, project finance and restructuring during 2002.