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The benefits of the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act may not be available to ‘second tier’ state companies. By Lee C Buchheit of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York

The Financial System Statute lays down that leasing services can only be offered by certain companies known as Commercial Financing Companies (CFCs). CFCs require prior authorization from the Banking Superintendency, and are subject to a special regime. CFCs must be organized as stock companies. They cannot be branches of foreign companies, but they may be subsidiaries. CFCs may effect active credit transactions up to the equivalent of 35% of total assets.

Swiss banking secrecy is based on the bank's duty of confidentiality towards the customer, the customer's privacy rights, and the Federal Banking Code, which makes any breach of banking secrecy a criminal offence. These legal bases are as undisputed as the fact that banking secrecy is by no means absolute.

Boutique financial services firm MW Cornish & Co will join Arnheim & Co, big six accountant Price Waterhouse's UK law firm, on July 1. Senior partner Martin Cornish becomes head of the Price Waterhouse European legal financial services practice. MW Cornish claims a range of expertise in banking, corporate and corporate finance work, but Arnheim & Co emphasizes the firm's expertise in fund management work. David Newton, Price Waterhouse partner responsible for investment management, says: "The addition of legal expertise is an important step in the development of our Investment Management business. Our ambition is simple: to be recognized as the leading professional advisers to the funds management industry worldwide."

The stamp duty on loans from Finnish banks and their branches abroad, now charged at 1.5%, would, under a plan initiated by the second minister of finance, be abolished. It has been claimed that stamp duties on loans, which in Europe are charged only in Finland and Denmark, discriminate against Finnish banks when compared with foreign banks active in Finland (other than Finnish branches of foreign banks, loans from which are also subject to 1.5% stamp duty).

On April 16 the Czech government announced a package of measures to cut growing budget and trade deficits, stimulate the sluggish economy, dampen demand for imports and add confidence to the Czech capital markets. The package consists of monetary and fiscal measures, policies on privatization and capital markets and the protection of the domestic market, and measures aimed at tackling white collar crime.

Act No 95-277 of March 25 1997 gives French employees the statutory right to participate in private pension fund schemes. By Bernard Carrez of Siméon & Associés, Paris

Microsoft, the largest computer software company, is buying WebTV Networks of Palo Alto for around US$425 million in stock and cash. WebTV, which will become a Microsoft subsidiary, has developed technology enabling consumers to surf the internet using their television sets.

Irish firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice has formally opened its first US office in Palo Alto, California. The office opened quietly at the start of 1997 and so far, says head of financial services David McGeogh, Dublin, the response has been promising: "As no other Irish firms have an office on the west coast, and as our focus is US inward investment into Ireland, we are not competing directly with anyone." The firm decided on Palo Alto, he says, for a number of reasons: the number of the firm's existing clients on the US west coast; the abundance of US electronics and computer companies in the region; and the relatively low set-up costs. The office is permanently staffed by senior associate Deirdre Dunne and another corporate associate, and will be supported by McGeogh and tax partner Liam Quirke from Dublin, who between them will spend around 10 weeks a year in the US. McGeogh says: "We are starting small, but within two to three months we will have a much better idea of how we need to expand."

The new managing partner of UK firm Ashurst Morris Crisp has set an agenda for European expansion. London partner Ian Nisse, elected by secret ballot of the partnership to the new role, says the firm is set to open one or two new offices within the EU. "It is no secret that Frankfurt is very high on our agenda as Germany is a very big focus of ours," says Nisse. "We are also looking at Italy and Spain." Nisse adds the firm will at the same time seek to expand its existing Brussels and Paris offices.