On 11 February 2010, the European Parliament refused to give its consent to the EU's provisional agreement on banking data transfers to the US via the SWIFT network. Read more.

The German Government has issued a draft for an act to implement the EC Regulation on credit rating agencies into German law. The major part of the Regulation, which provides for registration of credit rating agencies and bans the individual agencies from advising the same companies that they rate, does not require implementation. However the draft names the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority as the responsible agency for supervising rating agencies and provides for fines for violations. Read more.

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In response to the global financial crisis, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) commenced a detailed examination of the issues facing the development of the financial and capital markets in Japan. On 21 January 2010, the FSA released its findings and recommendations in the document entitled "Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets" (Report). This article identifies those aspects of the Report likely to be of interest to foreign investors. Read more.

The Central Bank has issued directives amending the mandatory risk ratios for banks and the procedure for calculating the operational risk amount to be included in the banks's net worth (capital) ratio (N1). Read more.

The Central Bank has issued a Directive providing that credit organisations must establish provisions to cover possible losses arising out of operations with financial instruments, including for portfolios of similar loans. Read more.

On 29 January 2010 the State Duma adopted, in the first reading, Draft Law No. 264550-5 amending the Law on Banks. The Draft Law requires banks to indicate their commission fees on ATM cash withdrawals, when such withdrawals are made. The information must be displayed on the ATM screen and reflected in a receipt. The provisions of the Draft Law will apply if adopted by the State Duma in three readings, approved by the Federation Council, signed by the President, and officially published.

Click here for the full text of this month's Russian Federation updates.

PLC Global Finance has published three special updates, covering recent developments in the Russian Federation, contributed by White & Case LLP.

This month's special updates are on:

This, and other special updates, are available on the Russian Federation contents page, located on the PLC Global Finance home page.

The European Commission is revising the Insurance Mediation Directive, aiming to improve legal certainty and clarity. It has written to the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors requesting its advice on various areas (such as scope, inclusion in the Lamfalussy framework directive, the administrative burden, and so on) where it believes reforms can be made to improve the functioning of the Directive. Read more.

The Norton Rose Group published the results of its survey tracking market sentiment in relation to the global financial crisis. The mood of respondents is relatively upbeat with a consensus that overall, liquidity is returning to the global banking system and the financial sector is preparing for a return to economic growth. There is also an expectation among respondents of a permanent shift in economic power from West to East. Read more.

Since the UK Government published a paper setting out its views on reforming the UK derivatives market (see Legal update, Reforming UK derivatives markets - A UK perspective), the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems and the Technical Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions have launched a comprehensive review of their existing standards for financial market infrastructures (such as payment systems and central counterparties), and the UK Government has commented further on the shape reforms should take. Read more.

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The SEC recently announced a series of reforms designed to substantially strengthen its ability to police the markets, including substantial reorganisation of the Division of Enforcement. At the same time, as recent cases outlined here show, the SEC has adopted an increasingly aggressive posture against perceived instances of insider trading. Read more.

On 5 January 2010, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2010-6 regarding correcting deferred compensation plan documents that do not meet the requirements of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Significantly, the IRS is effectively waiving most of the substantial tax penalties associated with document failures that are corrected by the end of 2010. It is important for lawyers and human resources and executive compensation professionals to understand the scope of the relief and to begin now to make any necessary corrections. Read more.

In its recent decision in Ogle v. Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland (586 F.3d 143 (2d Cir. 2009)) (Ogle), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that, under the Bankruptcy Code, an unsecured creditor is entitled to recover post-petition attorneys' fees that were authorised by an otherwise enforceable pre-petition indemnity agreement, but contingent on post-petition events. This article examines the case. Read more.

Click here for the full text of this month's United States updates.