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In the Decree-law for the Restoration of the Public Debt No. 323 dated June 20 1996, as amended on July 11 1996, (the Decree-law), the Italian government introduced the principle that any payment of capital income made from Italy by an Italian company (other than a bank) to a foreign financial institution is subject to a flat rate withholding tax of 15% if made to a foreign bank and to a withholding of 15% on account of taxes if made to foreign branches of Italian banks. The withholding of the 15% will apply to payments made to foreign branches of Italian banks even where the branch has not arranged for its funding from other banks.

As an alternative to bankruptcy, a Swedish business in financial trouble can enter into a composition (ackord) with its creditors. While seeking a composition, the debtor has nevertheless had no protection against its creditors. To solve this problem, new legislation (the Business Reconstruction Act, SFS 1996:764) has been enacted, effective from September 1 1996.

The Finnish Council of State has recently published a bill to implement the EU Directive on company law into the Finnish Companies Act. The bill also contains several amendments that fulfil specific Finnish concerns.

The Central Bank of Ireland is the regulator for both UCITS and non-UCITS funds in Ireland. The investment industry has been lobbying for more flexibility with regard to high net worth investors on the basis that they do not need the same level of protection as is generally desirable. The Central Bank of Ireland has now issued a special derogation from the general rules in relation to investment objectives, investment policies and the level of leverage employed where non-UCITS schemes are marketed solely to 'qualifying investors'.

The implementation of the EU Directive on investment services has been the ideal opportunity to reform Italy's securities regime. By Susanna Beltramo and Sabrina Bruno of Studio Legale Beltramo, Rome

The advent of internet-based transactional systems challenges the traditional financial regulatory system. By Thomas Crocker of Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge, Washington DC

Beginning in October 1996, the electronic filing of securities documentation will become mandatory in Canada. Marguerite Mooney of Borden & Elliot, Toronto, reports on how market participants will benefit

Denis M Forster of the Law Offices of Denis M Forster, New York, who advised Procter & Gamble and its trial counsel in its suit against Bankers Trust, offers a first-hand analysis of the court's holdings in the case

Anne Crossfield* looks at the controversy surrounding the involvement of local government and municipalities in high-risk investments sparked off by the Hammersmith & Fulham and Orange County cases and concludes that in the US only further legislation is likely to resolve it

The consolidation of Russia's securities regime, and the added teeth given to the regulatory authority, can only benefit the market. By James Christiansen of Coudert Brothers, Moscow