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A ratings agency report says synthetic aircraft financings will boom because they solve a raft of legal difficulties. There are likely to be several high profile synthetic aircraft transactions over the coming months as banks start to exploit their portfolios of aviation interests.

David Becker, the general counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until May 7, is to join Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Becker will join the firm's securities transaction and enforcement practice as a partner in Washington DC, where he will advise clients on capital markets activities, representing clients in SEC and other investigations, on corporate governance issues and in other SEC regulatory matters.

Lori Richards, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Compliance Inspections and Examinations Office, has called for brokers to cooperate more closely to combat money-laundering. Richards said the SEC "found the need for great improvement" when examining the types of reports that clearing brokers provide to introducing brokers, and whether they could be used to detect money-laundering activity.

The CMS alliance is expanding its presence in China after relocating UK, French and German lawyers to the new Shanghai office of Bureau Francis Lefebvre. CMS's French member opened its first Chinese operation this month to focus on corporate and commercial work, insurance and construction, after being awarded a licence by the Chinese Ministry of Justice at the end of 2001.

Thomas Williams reports on how Italy’s lawyers are testing the country’s new takeover and securities rules and working on deals to modernize the economy

A panel of lawyers in Japan has proposed changes to corporate bankruptcy law to better protect secured creditors. The proposals aim to prevent income streams that should be used to repay investors in a securitization from being distributed to unsecured creditors.

The EU has rushed through laws that will create uniform rules to allow all companies to use collateral to support cross-border payment and security transactions, so long as the counterparty is a bank or financial institution. The European Parliament fast-tracked the collateral directive through the legislative process as a priority part of the Financial Services Action Plan, which aims to create a single European market for financial services by late 2003.

The US government has called on Japan to overhaul its rules on cross-border share swaps in mergers and acquisitions. Foreign businesses operating in Japan have long called on the Japanese government to liberalize the range of options open to them to finance deals. Japanese law does not allow cross-border exchange of shares if the deal involves Japanese and foreign companies, although domestic companies can exchange shares between themselves.

Law Decree No 63 of April 15 2002 sets new provisions in connection with the financing of public works.

In the UK, Weil Gotshal & Manges closed a second football club securitization for client Bear Stearns with DLA advising Manchester United on a £30 million ($44 million) ticket receivables deal. Weil Gotshal and DLA also worked opposite each other in the same roles for Everton FC's securitization. Weil Gotshal advised Barclays Capital as lead manager on the £357 million securitization of credit card receivables by Capital One Bank. Clifford Chance advised Capital One Bank which is using the master trust structure.