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In 1991, the House of Lords held that entering into interest rate swaps was outside the statutory powers of local authorities (Hazell v Hammersmith & Fulham). When banks claimed for restitution of sums paid to local authorities under void swaps, their claims were hindered by the 200 year old principle of law that money paid under a mistake of law is not recoverable. In Kleinwort Benson v Lincoln City Council, the House of Lords has now ruled that payments made under a mistake of law are recoverable. The law lords, by a 3-2 majority, held that:

The negotiations between Denton Hall, Richards Butler and Theodore Goddard over a possible three-way merger have been called off. The merger would have created the seventh largest law firm based in the UK, according to statistics gathered for the recently published 1999 edition of the International Financial Law Review 1000 directory. While the firms found they had a very good fit in London, that situation was not reflected overseas. Although the press release mentions "difficulties in merging the Hong Kong offices of Denton Hall and Richards Butler", sources close to the talks indicate that it proved impossible to reconcile the Asian aims of Denton Hall with the independence insisted on by the Hong Kong office of Richards Butler.

Securitization is rapidly becoming a common financing technique in Italy with new regulations modelled on foreign securitization rules. By Raffaele Rizzi of Baker & McKenzie, London

On October 1 1998, the Spanish parliament passed a law amending the Securities' Market Law and modifying various other aspects of Spanish securities market-related laws. Among the main features of this new law are the following:

Banking confidentiality in Poland is regulated by the Banking Act of 1997. Generally it is based on the rather restrictive French model, however, the legislators have used their own construction in the wording of the legislation. Polish confidentiality regulations are within the bounds of the EU's legal framework and the requirements set for OECD members.

Stock exchange equity transactions are settled through a complex procedure, the first stage taking place within the relevant regulated market, and the second stage performed by the clearing houses managed by the Bank of Italy.

The Hungarian Civil Code governs collateral agreements in a separate chapter. Some forms of collateral are accessory in nature, ie are dependent on the principal claim (eg a suretyship), others are independent. Section 249 of the Hungarian Civil Code expressly includes in the second group bank guarantees by which a bank obliges itself to make payment to the beneficiary in accordance with the conditions in the statement of indemnity, and within the agreed period of time.

The slump in issuance since October 1997 has affected all firms with Asian equities practices with the biggest offerings bringing more comfort to US rather than UK firms. Nick Ferguson reports

US firms suffered from the effects of the Asian crisis on Latin America, but benefited from a thriving market at home, while Canadian firms enjoyed an increasing involvement in global equity offerings. Barbara Galli reports

Richard Parolai and Michael Elland-Goldsmith of Clifford Chance, Paris, advisers to CSFB