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Mortgage banks were an important part of the Hungarian banking system until World War II. After a long break during the socialist era, mortgage banks have now been reintroduced in Hungary through Law No. XXX of 1997, which took effect on June 7 1997.

On January 1 1998, new regulations of the National Securities Depository of KDPW (Krajowy Depozyt Papierow Wartosciowych) entered into force. These new regulations became necessary due to the new Public Trading and Securities Act, published on October 3 1997 and which entered into force at the beginning of the year (see International Financial Law Review, May 1998 page 58). The regulations of the National Securities Depository describe the basic conditions of the deposit and clearing procedures in the field of public securities trading.

A newly proposed Accounting Act is scheduled to be adopted by the Norwegian parliament before the summer break and to go into effect on January 1 1999. This will involve major changes to the financial year, dividend distribution and how assets are reported in mergers.

English law distinguishes between fixed and floating charges. The essential distinction is that, unlike the holder of a fixed charge, on an insolvency the floating charge-holder ranks behind preferential creditors (consisting principally of the claims of the government for unpaid taxes and of employees for unpaid salary). For this and other reasons, the creditor of an insolvent company will usually try to establish a fixed charge over the relevant assets of the insolvent company.

Article 1, paragraph 1 of Legislative Decree No. 239 of April 1 1996, containing provisions aimed at amending the financial treatment of interest and other capital gains deriving from securities and similar bonds, as amended by Article 12, paragraph 3 of Legislative Decree No. 461 of November 11 1997, will enter into force on July 1 1998. It provides that the 12.5% withholding tax under Article 26, paragraph 1 of the Decree of the President of the Republic No. 600 of September 29 1973 will not be applied to interest and other capital gains deriving from securities and similar bonds issued in Italy by certain entities to the extent that:

In April 1998 the government submitted a bill to parliament regarding a reform of the Finnish Companies Act to enable the conversion to the euro in private and public limited companies during the transition period between January 1 1999 and December 31 2001 and set the rules governing the move to no par value (NPV) shares in limited companies.

To reduce private expenditure and a growing balance of payments deficit, the Danish government has presented an economic constraint. The initiative includes a reduction of the interest allowance and increased taxation on real property.

Cyprus is not an offshore centre. An offshore centre has no double tax treaties and is not a signatory to international conventions. Moreover, it is used by wealthy individuals or international corporations for brass plate structures and for sheltering their wealth without tax liabilities.

The changeover to the Euro will have a substantial impact on European price sources. The Fibor (Frankfurt Interbank Offered Rate), for example, will vanish from January 1 1999. On that date, one to 12 month Fibor rates will be replaced by one to 12 month Euribor rates (Euro Interbank Offered Rate), and the Fibor overnight rate will be replaced by the Eonia rate (Euro Overnight Index Average). Euribor and Eonia rates will be calculated on a daily basis using quotes from a maximum of 64 European banks, 12 of which are domiciled in Germany.

In a recent judgement, the Dubai Court of Cassation gave a narrow interpretation to the obligations resulting from a personal guarantee of a revolving credit facility.