The European Commission's public consultation on "Responsible lending and borrowing in the EU" ended on 31 August 2009. On 3 September 2009, a public hearing was held in Brussels to discuss with stakeholders the most appropriate policy responses to the challenges faced by consumer borrowers and the financial services industry, and to summarise the main conclusions from the consultation. These are discussed here. Read more.

The general election on 27 September 2009 marked a change in the composition of the German Government, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party now likely to enter into a new coalition with the Free Democratic Party. This article considers the views of both parties on the future of banking regulation. Read more.

The so-called Bad Bank Act, enacted on 23 July 2009, also contains tax consequences against the background of allowing banks and other financial institutions to transfer specific "toxic" assets to special purpose vehicle (SPV) subsidiaries. This article considers those tax implications. Read more.

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

The Democratic Party has come to power in Japan for the first time in 50 years, bringing with it some new ideas on corporate governance. These are enshrined in a set of draft regulations applicable to listed companies, the main aims of which are set out here. Read more.

A bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act was enacted on 3 July 2009. The amendments provide the outline of a new regulatory framework for commodity derivatives business in Japan and the most notable changes are summarised here. Read more.

In September 2009, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation (ETIC) was launched, aiming to manage more complex workouts for companies where a higher level of initiative and more intensive use of professional expertise are required than cases filed with other out-of-court workout bodies. This article summarises the range of out-of court workout options available, and explains key features of the service ETIC will provide. Read more.

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

On 27 September 2009, the President signed a new law suspending until 31 December 2010 certain rules that set out the eligibility criteria banks must meet to be allowed to hold deposits from individuals. Read more.

Under a directive of the Central Bank, its territorial departments regularly evaluate the economic position of banks, following which such banks are assigned one of five classification categories. The Central Bank has issued an amending directive so that banks having unsatisfactory profitability will be assigned the third classification category (rather than the fourth as previously). Read more.

The Central Bank has adopted a new regulation on the rules regarding the mandatory reserves that must be held by credit organisations. The new regulation repeals its predecessor (passed in 2004) and the main differences are summarised here. Read more.

The Central Bank has issued a new directive setting out the mandatory reserves for a credit organisation's obligations under each category (for example, obligations to non-resident legal entities and individuals, and other obligations in rubles or foreign currencies). Read more.

The refinancing rate has been changed several times this year and, in particular, has been reduced twice in September 2009. Read more.

The State Duma has adopted in the first reading Draft Law No. 217109-5 on the possibility to convert debt into equity. The Draft Law proposes to amend a range of laws, such as the Law on Joint Stock Companies and the Law on Limited Liability Companies to make it possible for organisations - other than credit organisations - to covert their debt into equity. Read more.

The State Duma has adopted in the first reading Draft Law No. 217225-5 on amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Law. The amendments aim to strengthen Russian money laundering laws by, among other things, extending them to foreign subsidiaries of Russian "controlling" companies, as recommended by FATF. Read more.

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

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

This month's special update is on:

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

The failure of the plea negotiations between the SFO and BAE regarding allegations of corrupt activities on the part of BAE in negotiating various arms deals was widely publicised. As the SFO is now seeking permission from the Attorney-General to prosecute BAE, this article considers whether, given that it is known that BAE considered pleading guilty in those negotiations, it is possible for BAE to get a fair trial. Read more.

A year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, there is a marked shift of sentiment in the media and business community where talk is of "green shoots" – the first tentative signs of recovery. But opinion is divided; some fear a double dip recession. This Norton Rose LLP survey considers this question by looking at some of the challenges and opportunities financial institutions face as they look to their recovery. Read more.

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In three separate announcements in August and September, the FSA has stated that it plans for greater regulatory co-operation with both the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commisssion. This article outlines details of their plans. Read more.

The Department for Work and Pensions is consulting on Amending Regulations proposing changes to the current Employer Debt Regulations, aiming to assist up to 50% of corporate restructurings, provided certain conditions are met. This article explains the key proposals contained in the consultation. Read more.

The ECJ has ruled that the UK levy of 1.5% stamp duty reserve tax on an issue of new shares into a clearance service contravened EU law. HMRC have accepted the ruling and suspended this tax in relation to shares issued into EU clearance services. Companies which have paid SDRT in similar circumstances can now consider making repayment claims. Read more.

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

In the recent case of Stoneridge Investment Partners v Scientific-Atlanta, the US Supreme Court reaffirmed the position it took in the Central Bank case in 1994, where it ruled that Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 did not provide for a private right of action against those who aid and abet another's violation of the securities laws. The two cases limit the liability of secondary actors for misrepresentations or omissions in materials relating to securities transactions. However, in a spate of recent cases, the SEC and plaintiffs bar have now launched another offensive to dramatically expand the scope of liability by circumventing the bright-line rule announced in Stoneridge. Some of these attempts have met with some degree of success. This article considers a few of the leading ones and their implications. Read more.

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, in the Lehman Brothers chapter 11 cases, held that Metavante Corporation, counterparty to Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. under an unterminated interest rate swap agreement, could not rely on the safe harbour provisions in the Bankruptcy Code to excuse its failure to perform its obligations under the Swap Agreement. Read more.

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