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Last summer, the Lloyd's of London restructuring plan came under attack by a large group of US names (as individual investors are referred to in the Lloyd's market). The US names charged Lloyd's with various fraudulent practices and violations of US securities laws.

Despite their frequent use in Canada, US lawyers are often puzzled by bankers' acceptances. Lisa Boulton of Tory Tory DesLauriers & Binnington, Toronto, explains why they are so popular in Canada's money markets

UK regional firm Pinsent Curtis has head-hunted a senior litigation partner from international firm Linklaters & Paines. Graeme Brister replaces Paul Downing as managing partner of the London office after Downing left to join Price Waterhouse last month. Says Christopher Styles, a litigation partner at Linklaters who has worked with Brister for 17 years: "To an outsider this move to a regional, domestic firm must look jolly odd. The key is that he wants to get out of the bigger jobs for international clients and move into management." It is said that Brister wanted to become managing partner at Linklaters, but Styles explains: "This is not sour grapes. He no longer wanted to spend so much time in practice."

The Central Bank of Russia recently issued Instructions giving foreign investors greater scope to invest in rouble-denominated bonds. By Mira Davidovski and Robert Chernoff of Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn, Paris and Moscow

On October 1 1996 a fully revised set of rules on the listing of securities on the Swiss Stock Exchange (the New Listing Regulations) came into effect. The primary goal of the revision was to anticipate the guidelines of the Federal Code on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading, expected to be enacted by January 1 1997 and to assimilate the listing rules to 'international standards', ie, in particular, the EU directives on the reporting duties of issuers.

The Council of Ministers issued a Regulation, effective from August 31 1996, aimed at the detection of money-laundering activities. Turkish banks and branches in Turkey of foreign banks are obliged to determine the identities of persons engaged in any transaction exceeding TL1 million (US$11,000). The amount will be reviewed every year in January by the Undersecretariat of Treasury in light of changes in the Wholesale Price Index.

The state reinsurance monopoly has now been lifted with the enactment of Constitutional Amendment No. 13 of August 21 1996. In accordance with the new wording of Article 192, II of the Constitution, licensing requirements and other conditions applicable to reinsurance shall be regulated in a complementary law. There are at present two bills on the subject being examined in Congress.

On September 11 the Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 passed the House of Representatives in amended form. Key provisions contained in the Bill include:

US petroleum refiner Diamond Shamrock is to merge with rival Ultramar in a US$2.35 billion deal. The transaction is structured as a stock swap, attracted the attention of regulators regarding Diamond Shamrock's call options after large purchases were reported a week before the announcement of the merger.

• US firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has appointed partner Douglas Tanner as head of the firm's Hong Kong office. Tanner, who leaves the Los Angeles office to take up the post, specializes in international capital market transactions, acquisitions, joint ventures and investment in Asia. He also has experience in asset securitization transactions and derivative products. He replaces Glenn Gerstell, who returns to the Washington DC office.