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Daniel Futej Daniel Grigel The Government of the Slovak Republic has decided to institute a unitary health insurance system; this comes in the wake of its approval on 31 October 2012 of the Project for Instituting a Unitary Health Insurance System (the Project). In Slovakia today, there are two private health insurance companies operating in the public health insurance system to be affected by the envisaged system change, along with one other state health insurance company. The Project compares the various options for instituting a unitary health insurance system, and describes the procedure for the voluntary buyout of the shares of private health insurance companies, as well as procedures in the event of expropriation of those shares. These will be laid down in detail in the accompanying act, which is expected to come into force on May 1 2013.

The law on the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, which transposes the provisions of Directive 2005/60/EC into national law, has been enacted by the Parliament of Cyprus. It applies to persons and companies providing relevant fiduciary and other corporate services relating to the administration or management of trusts and companies in or from Cyprus, including directorship and secretarial services provided by a legal person, services such as holding shares in a nominee or trustee capacity, provision of a registered office, services related to opening and operating bank accounts and the ownership of financial assets on behalf of third parties.

Takashi Itokawa On February 18 2013, the Densai-net claim settlement system came online. Densai-net is a settlement service system offered by densai.net Co, for electronically recorded claims. densai.net Co is a company established by the Japanese Bankers Associations, which is comprised of those banks, bank holding companies and bankers associations active in Japan, and licensed to record and maintain electronic claims. Since almost all of financial institutions in Japan that have corporate banking operations participate in Densai-net, users of this claim settlement system are able to access not only the member banks of Japanese Bankers Associations, but also credit associations (Shinkin banks), credit unions (Shinyo Kinko) and the Central Bank for Commercial and Industrial Associations (Shoko Chukin Bank), each of which have long played central roles in financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. The legislation establishing Densai-net illustrates its two main objectives: improving Japan's business infrastructure; and, facilitating financing for SMEs. It is hoped that Densai-net will allow SMEs to raise capital in a more efficient manner and that this, in turn, will encourage economic growth. The applicable laws and regulations were designed to allow for universal electronic account settlement services, to replace traditional note settlement methods, which entail the endorsement requirements for the transfer of notes and discounting. In addition, the applicable laws and regulations were designed for global electronic settlement services to provide lenders with a prompt and reliable method to collect claims. Further, it is anticipated that the introduction of Densai-net will encourage the factoring of accounts receivables and further increase the amount of capital in the market for lending purposes.

Liam Carney Callaghan Kennedy In a decision helpful to both special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and service providers utilising SPVs, the Irish Supreme Court has given effect to a gross negligence carve-out to a general (and standard-form) limitation of liability clause (Clause) in an Irish-law commercial licence. The case also highlights the dangers of taking for granted the protections such clauses purport to provide, in particular where key terms such as gross negligence and wilful default are not defined.

US banks should brace themselves for stronger competition enforcement throughout President Obama's second term, a former Department of Justice (DoJ) antitrust official has warned.

Mian Muhammad Nazir The United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai, has always been amongst the few most comfortable places for Islamic finance. It has received significant support from the Government, regulators and stakeholders. Yet despite the popularity of Islamic finance in the UAE, and UAE's contribution in the growth of Islamic finance, the legal and regulatory infrastructure has always needed further improvement in order to keep pace with the challenges of time and to further strengthen the confidence of the stakeholders in the Islamic finance industry. As expected, the latest initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, have once again offered a remarkable degree of comfort to the industry. The initiatives will lead the UAE, and particularly Dubai, through a series of practical steps, which will pave the way for the growth of Islamic finance on a solid foundation. The proposed initiatives will entail industry specific and robust legal, judicial and regulatory reforms, which will provide a level playing field for the Islamic finance industry, to which it has been aspiring since its inception. What Islamic finance industry would certainly welcome is the review of Federal Law number 6 of 1985 regarding Islamic banks, financial institutions and investment companies.

Freddy Karyadi Oene Marseille Bank Indonesia (BI) has recently issued the new Regulation number 14/24/PBI/2012 (the Regulation) to update its previous regulation, BI Regulation number 8/16/PBI/2006 (the 2006 Regulation) on single ownership of Indonesian banks. It came into effect on December 26 2012. The issuance of the Regulation revokes: the provisions in the 2006 Regulation; and the provisions in Article 2 paragraph 2a and e, Article 3, and Article 7 of BI Regulation number 8/17/PBI 2006 regarding incentives for the purposes of banking consolidation as amended by BI Regulation number 9/12/PBI/2007. The regulation aims to improve the competitiveness of the Indonesian banking system both on regional and global levels of economic development, by reducing the number of Indonesian banks via consolidation. This policy is also commonly known as the single presence policy, which is applicable to the banks' controlling shareholders that either hold at least 25% shares and have voting rights or have a direct or indirect control of the bank even with less than 25% of the shares.

Just three years after the crisis, it’s business as usual for Dubai. But as the emirate positions itself for an era of new growth, does the hype mask deeper-rooted problems?

Dr Daniel Staehelin is president of INSOL Europe, a pan-European professional association for restructuring and insolvency specialists. He works as an attorney and notary public at Kellerhals Anwälte Attorneys at Law and is an honorary professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He sat down with IFLR to share his thoughts on the state of cross-border insolvency proceedings in Europe

Some innovative reforms have created new possibilities – and flexibility – for Italian companies in distress. Chiomenti Studio Legale’s Carmelo Raimondo and Marco Pagani disucss the new rules for pre-insolvency creditor arrangements