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In 1996, AT&T Corporation (AT&T) closed the sale of its equipment finance and leasing subsidiary, AT&T Capital Corporation (AT&T Capital), to management and Hercules Holding (Cayman) Limited, which is owned by a group of companies led by GRS Holding Company. The acquisition, which closed on October 1 1996, was followed , two weeks later, by the issue of approximately US$3.2 billion of equipment-lease-backed-notes ('the notes'), approximately US$1.2 billion of which was used to finance the acquisition.

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire has signed a restructuring agreement with its foreign commercial creditors providing for the repurchase and cancellation of 30% of the country's external commercial debt at a discount. The remaining 70% of the debt will be exchanged for partly secured bonds in dollars and French francs. The agreement covers US$6.8 billion of debt, and is the second of its kind to be completed in Africa.

On July 1 1997, the EU made a fresh offer to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the course of the current talks aimed at liberalizing financial services worldwide. The new offer increases the scope of the previous offer, which included, among other things, free access (on a most-favoured-nation basis) for foreign institutions to the EU's internal market in financial services, and the right to establish branches.

The first UK Budget from 'New Labour' on July 2 kept the possibility of a general statutory anti-avoidance provision — perhaps on the Australian model — very much alive, but did not actually contain proposals for one. So for the time being that leaves UK advisers to work out the significance, if any, of some very broad statements in the House of Lords, as the ultimate level of tax appeal, in its decision on June 12 1997 in McGuckian. This was a victory for the UK Revenue, but how important a victory remains to be seen.

As of May 8 1997, data protection rules have been in force under the provisions of Law No. 675 of December 31 1996 which enacted EU Directive No. 9 of March 11 1996. Varying levels of protection for personal data are contemplated and the Authority responsible recently criticized Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) because the forms used by BNL to obtain customers' consent breached the provisions of Law 675. The Authority considered BNL's forms too vague and general and in its opinion the bank's customers would be unlikely to be clear about how and for what purposes their personal data was being collated. The Authority invited BNL to modify the forms sent to customers particularly in view of the fact that refusal by customers to give BNL their consent would have meant the automatic termination of their contractual relationship with BNL and the immediate suspension by the bank of all transactions.

In May 1997 the Czech financial markets were plunged into an unprecedented crisis when a wave of speculative selling triggered severe currency turbulence. The Czech National Bank spent millions of dollars propping up the Czech koruna against attacks by both foreign and domestic investors.

In June the new Banking Law of Cyprus was passed by the House of Representatives. Its main aim is to harmonize the island's legislation with that of the EU, to regulate the banking system and give protection to depositors.

Since disposing of its oil interests in Ecuador in 1992, Texaco has faced a spate of lawsuits stemming from damages allegedly caused by decades of oil exploration and extraction activities carried out by a consortium company owned by the state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, and Texaco. In the US, these claims have been pressed in the federal courts through class actions brought in the name of Ecuadorean citizens seeking damages of US$1.5 billion and equitable relief consisting of a court-supervised clean-up of the affected areas in Ecuador. The first such suit, Sequiha v Texaco, started in Texas in August 1993, seeking damages for 500,000 Ecuadoreans, and was dismissed five months later on grounds of comity and forum non conveniens. The second, Aguinda v Texaco, was brought in November 1993 for a class of about 30,000 indigenous citizens. It continued through pre-trial discovery until November 1996, when the New York federal court dismissed the claims on the same grounds. However, the judge also based the dismissal on the failure to join two indispensable parties to the litigation — Petroecuador and the government of Ecuador — deemed necessary for the equitable portion of the case.

Switzerland generally gets good marks for its efforts to keep its financial markets clean. Together, the Swiss Penal Code, the Guidelines of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission and the Code of Conduct of the Swiss Banks constitute a solid regulatory barrier against the channelling of criminal money into the banking sector. The Financial Action Task Force of the G7 countries not long ago recognized Switzerland's efforts as a substantial contribution to the worldwide struggle against money-laundering.

The Amsterdam Treaty, to be signed in October, makes significant reforms but failed to answer the main questions of how to reach decisions in an enlarged EU. By Raymond O’ Rourke of Stanbrook and Hooper, Brussels