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In 1998, the Federal Banking Commission (FBC) issued a circular to all banks setting out guidelines relating to money laundering. The FBC now plans to issue more formal and stringent legislation in the form of an Ordinance on the subject. A draft of the Ordinance prepared by a committee was sent for comment to various business organizations of the banking trade at the beginning of July.

Amendments to the Hungarian Labour Code, effective from September 1 2002, appear to favour employees' interests over those of employers.

The Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (the BRSA) has taken on the mission of changing the banking system radically and in furtherance of its efforts has issued the Regulation on the Establishment and Activities of Asset Management Companies (AMCs).

Overseas investors queuing up to buy Chinese targets, following the imposition of new M&A rules, may end up disappointed. By Teresa Ko

The international financial community now has its first chance to review proposed changes to the Basel Capital Accord. Chris Bates answers some of the questions bankers may have

German companies listed in the US will find it tough to reconcile differences between their traditional practices and the requirements of American corporate governance reforms. By John Palenberg, Ward Greenberg and Gabriele Apfelbacher

It has become commonly understood in many countries that widely-accepted standards for the operation and control of stock corporations listed on a stock exchange are needed in order to build and maintain investor confidence. To this end, an expert commission in Germany has recently introduced the Corporate Governance Code (available at www.corporate-governance-code.de/eng/kodex/index.html), which aims to make the German corporate governance system transparent and thereby promote the trust of international and national investors, customers, employees and the general public in the management and supervision of German stock corporations listed on a stock exchange. The Code describes existing legally-binding provisions as well as making recommendations for the conduct of such stock corporations. It focuses in particular on shareholders' rights, competence and duties of the management and the supervisory board, transparency in the corporation's field of activity and on the reporting and audit of annual financial statements. The latter aspect has received much attention recently due to a number of accounting scandals, in the US as well as in Germany, which have shown that "good and responsible governance", as the foreword to the Corporate Governance Code puts it, is of greater significance than ever.

The law of August 2 2002 on the supervision of the financial sector and financial services includes some substantial changes to Belgian legislation in connection with statutory liens and security interests in favour of financial intermediaries and clearing and settlement institutions.

Trade financiers have traditionally assumed they will be treated more favourably than other creditors by countries in financial difficulty. According to a study carried out by Torys, this is no-longer true. By Gilbert Samberg

Saudi Arabia's banking sector has traditionally been a closed market for the 10 banks licensed by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama). In 1999 the Kingdom opened its doors to Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB), which is 22.2% owned by Sama. In recent months, a number of banks headquartered in the GCC have applied for licences to operate in Saudi Arabia under the 1982 GCC Unified Economic Agreement, which has been implemented only on a piecemeal basis by the six GCC states over the past 20 years.