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Other capital funds as one of the components of a company´s equity in Slovak entities (Funds) are used primarily when there is a need to inject cash into a company in a very short time. A company's equity comprises: (i) share capital; (ii) capital funds (including the Funds); (iii) funds created from net profit; (iv) profit or loss from previous years; and, (v) after-tax profit or loss for the accounting period. The issue of contributions to Funds has long been a subject of intense legal discussion in Slovakia. The main discussion is focused on the issue of whether the Funds may represent cost free contributions and may be freely returned to the shareholder who provided them.

In Chief Counsel Advice 201423019 (CCA), the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] rejected a taxpayer's attempt to mark to market mortgage loans held in a non-REMIC [real estate mortgage investment conduit] securitisation trust. It found, among other things, that loan modifications alone were not sufficient dealer activity. Unfortunately, the CCA's tangled analysis raises more questions than it answers.

Isil Ökten Aslihan Özbey The Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB) published the Communiqué Serial: III 59.1 on Covered Bonds (new Communiqué) in the Official Gazette on January 21 2014. The New Communiqué is part of regulatory improvements to Turkey's bonds and securitisation market. It introduces a consolidated legal framework regulating asset-covered bonds and mortgage-covered bonds. In order to clarify certain issues under the new Communiqué and to make the issuance of covered bonds more effective in Turkey, the CMB recently published an amendment to the new Communiqué (amended Communiqué). According to the new Communiqué, if any cash collection is made from the assets in the pool, the issuer must either: (i) record the proceeds to the cover registry; (ii) remove the cash from the cover registry for the payments of the covered bonds; or (iii) replace the cash with the new security assets. One of the major amendments to the new Communiqué introduced by the amended Communiqué is that now the issuer is free to use the cash proceeds provided that it complies with the statutory tests and all other liabilities.

The lighter side of the past month in the world of financial law

Soonghee Lee Sung Woon Kang An amendment to the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality (ARNFTC) was passed in the plenary session in the National Assembly on May 2 2014 and will come into effect on November 29 2014. This amendment prohibits parties to a financial transaction from entering into the transaction by another's real name (borrowed name transaction) and imposes a criminal and administrative penalty and civil disadvantages on the violators. The contents of the amendment include several main points. The amendment includes a prohibition on borrowed name transactions by parties to a financial transaction. The version of ARNFTC in force only imposes on financial institutions and others the duty to use the real name of the party to the financial transaction. Moreover, the existing ARNFTC leaves open the question of interpretation as to whether financial transactions not by a real name include borrowed name transactions. The amended ARNFTC prohibits borrowed name transactions by providing that 'it is prohibited to conduct financial transactions by using another person's real name for the purpose of hiding unlawful properties, money laundering, or providing funds for terrorism or avoidance of enforcement and any other illegal acts' and subjects offenders to a possible jail term of five years or less or fine of W50 million or less. However, the amended provisions limit the prohibited borrowed name transactions to cases where certain purposes are found, such as the hiding of unlawful properties. Moreover, although the amendment prohibits borrowed name transactions with the purpose of 'any other illegal acts', it does not provide the definition of 'illegal acts'; therefore, it is uncertain how the amendment will be applicable to transactions in practice.

> Carlos Fradique-Méndez David Lopez Foreign financial institutions granting loans to Colombian financial institutions are increasingly concerned about the feasibility of securing such indebtedness with collateral granted by the Colombian borrower. This is because new international financial regulations demanding larger liquidity from financial institutions, imposing more stringent capital requirements and requiring additional collateral for specific transactions have entered into force. This allows the foreign lender to abide with regulations demanding collateral and to ameliorate the risk-adjustment value of such loans with admissible collateral. This regulatory and business need poses an interesting challenge under Colombian law. As a general rule, Colombian financial institutions may not grant collateral (or any type of lien that restricts its right to transfer assets) as security to a transaction unless an explicit exception applies.

Hero Sinanidou-Sideridou An effective regulatory scheme had been much needed for the games of chance market in Greece. In March 2011, the Minister of Finance publicly announced that the annual illegal turnover of games of chance in Greece was estimated at about €10 billion ($13.4 billion), explicitly highlighting that this situation should be addressed by the Greek government. Law 4002/2011 reflected an initial attempt for regulation of this market. Since then, at least nine laws have amended or supplemented the basic provisions of Law 4002/2011. The role of market regulator has been undertaken by the Gaming Supervision and Control Commission (GSCC), an independent administrative authority established in 2012.

Elias Neocleous Following the entry into force of the Alternative Investment Funds Law of 2014 (AIF Law) on July 27, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued guidance on transitional arrangements. The AIF Law regulates the establishment and operation of alternative investment funds (AIFs) in Cyprus and replaces the International Collective Investment Schemes Laws of 1999 and 2000 (ICIS Laws). It designates CySEC as the supervisory authority for AIFs. Following article 4(1)(a) of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, the AIF Law defines an AIF as 'a collective investment undertaking, including investment compartments thereof, which raises capital from a number of investors with a view to investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of those investors and is not authorised as an Undertaking for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (Ucits) in accordance with section 9 of the Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investments Law of 2012'.

Oene Marseille Emir Nurmansyah Indonesia passed a Geothermal Bill into law on August 6 2014. This new law revises Law 27 of 2003 on geothermal activities. Previously, geothermal activities were categorised as 'mining' activities. In this new law, geothermal exploitation is specifically set apart from the definition of mining activities. This development is significant, as mining activities are restricted in several forest areas, including conservation and protected forest areas. With the passage of the new law, geothermal exploitation may be carried out in such forest areas, where most of this energy source is located. Indonesia is located in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. The country has approximately 130 active volcanoes. Due to this high volcanic geology, Indonesia's geothermal potential is large; some estimate that it holds 40% of the world's potential geothermal resources.

José Ramón Paz Morales The Honduran Commerce Code (1950) is a pillar of Honduran Law, and has undergone very few reforms in its lifetime. The key to its success can be attributed to Honduran legislators, who at the time of its creation, acknowledged the importance of having a legal instrument that would address issues involving domestic and international commercial transactions in Honduras, but that would also adapt to the constant evolution of mercantile activities. With these objectives in mind, Honduras hired famous international jurists such as Joaquin Rodriguez Rodriguez, who were experts in renowned jurisprudence such as the Mexican Code of Commerce and the Italian Civil Code from 1942. Once it became law, the Honduran Commerce Code was one of the most modern commercial laws in Latin America.