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Banks have much to gain from the new breed of lenders gaining prominence across Europe. But as McGuireWoods' Marc Isaacs and Alan Holliday explain, they must learn to work with their new competition

US term loan B-style loans are spreading globally. Linklaters' Danelle Le Cren and Jeff Norton explain why before borrowers and lenders hop on board, they should consider the legal precedents in their local market

Class-action lawsuits are thought to be an important aspect of investor protection. Syren Johnstone, adjunct associate professor at Hong Kong University, explains why the SFC’s powers may be a meaningful alternative

Jones Day's John Ahern explains why China’s growing role in Europe will test the region’s changing regulatory attitudes towards foreign banks

The European Commission’s revised Regulation on Insolvency has been finalised. But Linklaters' Jo Windsor and Richard Hodgson query how effective the changes will be

Truong Huu Ngu Taro Hirosawa Vague regulations, bureaucratic requirements and changing practices may frustrate foreign investors hoping for deals in Vietnam to close quickly. But from this July, changes brought about by the country's revised Investment Law and revised Enterprise Law will give foreign acquirers greater confidence when investing in Vietnam. Under the new Investment Law, share acquisitions by foreign buyers will only need to be registered with local licensing authorities: (i) if the target company is involved in certain types of highly-regulated business; or, (ii) the acquisition results in majority foreign ownership of the target company. After registration, the acquired company may simply go ahead with changing its membership record with the enterprise registrar (in the case of a limited liability company) or update the registrar regarding foreign ownership (in the case of a shareholding company). Theoretically, these procedures will be able to be completed within 18 days. This means that the existing, more time-consuming, procedure requiring the acquired company to obtain a so-called investment certificate will be phased out.

A recent tax case out of the Fifth Circuit approved a taxpayer's strategy to make the best of a bad investment. According to the facts of Pilgrim's Pride v Commissioner, the taxpayer purchased preferred stock from two corporations (Issuers) for a total of $98.6 million in 1999. By 2004, the stock had declined significantly in value and the Issuers offered to buy back the stock for $20 million. The taxpayer determined that the best course of action was to abandon the stock for no consideration because a $98.6 million ordinary abandonment loss would generate tax savings more valuable than the $20 million offered by the Issuers. Accordingly, the taxpayer surrendered the stock to the Issuers, terminating its ownership rights with respect to the Issuers. The taxpayer then claimed an ordinary loss of $98.6 million. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) disagreed with the character of the loss, arguing that the abandonment should be treated as a sale or exchange, resulting in a capital loss (subject to limitation), rather than an ordinary loss.

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

Market players must tread carefully to capitalise on policymakers’ efforts to revive the regional economy

The FSB’s consultation on total loss-absorbing capacity is the last significant piece of post-crisis reform. But there are concerns about how it will work in practice