Banking and Finance Law Commons^™

Recent Development: New Limits On Banks Lending To Foreign Nations, Charles S. Sanger

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Although not directly tied to the foreign debt problem, the recent loss of congressional confidence in United States bank regulatory agencies caused by the failure of the Continental Illinois Bank may also compel reevaluation of the Act. The purported failure of the regulators to discover the extent of Continental Illinois' imprudent loans has led several legislators and regulators to call for greater supervision of lending institutions.

This Recent Development will briefly examine the International Lending Supervision Act of 1983, including the regulatory scheme that predated the Act and the restrictions the Act places on the private banking industry in the …

Book Review, Robert C. Effros

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Mr. Crossick and Ms. Lindsay have collaborated to produce an analytical work entitled European Banking Law. The analysis is composed of four main sections: banking, credit, capital movement, and securities. Each section contains a description of the applicable major laws and regulations in the countries of the European Economic Community (EEC) as well as Portugal and Spain, and includes a summary of the relevant EEC directives and their supporting studies. On the whole, the authors' product is successful and useful, particularly in describing the EEC's attempts to accomplish the difficult task of harmonizing and coordinating banking and financial laws within …

Recent Decisions, Lucy C. Gratz, Laurel C. Williams

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arbitration--Transnational Antitrust Claims are Nonarbitrable under the Federal Arbitration Act and Article II (1) of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards--Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 723 F.2d 155 (1st Cir.1983), cert. granted, 105 S. Ct. 291 (1984).

Comment

The instant decision marks the first time a court has considered whether to apply the United States domestic policy of preserving antitrust issues for judicial determination to an international contract containing a mandatory arbitration clause. The First Circuit's decision to apply domestic policy undermines the preeminent goal of the Convention, which is to encourage arbitration …

Fraud In The International Transaction: Enjoining Payment Of Letters Of Credit In International Transactions, Stephen J. Leacock

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Sztejn principles present to issuing banks a perplexing dilemma in international letter of credit transactions. Issuing banks that have received notice of fraud in the underlying transaction may yet be presented with documents that apparently conform to the letter of credit requirements by a seller who is not a holder in due course. If the bank refuses payment and a court determines that the fraud was not sufficiently egregious, the bank will be liable for breach of contract between the bank and the seller. But if the bank relies on the doctrine of separation and pays the draft, and …

Recent Decisions, Lucy C. Gratz, Laurel C. Williams

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arbitration Transnational Antitrust Claims are Nonarbitrable under the Federal Arbitration Act and Article II (1) of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards--Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc., 723 F.2d 155 (1st Cir.1983), cert. granted, 105 S. Ct. 291 (1984).

Lucy C. Gratz

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International Banking--The International Banking Act of 1978 Limits the States' Ability to Regulate Foreign Bank Entry, "Conference of State Bank Supervisors v. Conover," 715 F.2d 604 (D.C. Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 104 S. Ct. 1708 (1984).

Laurel Comstock Williams

Venezuela Revisited: Foreign Investment, Technology, And Related Issues, Robert J. Radway, Franklin T. Hoet-Linares

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A brief history of foreign investment in Venezuela is necessary to understand recent changes in Venezuelan foreign investment policy. The development of selected industrial sectors, including principally petroleum and mining, but also agriculture, electric power, manufacturing, banking, and insurance, has played a significant role in shaping Venezuelan foreign investment policy. The laws, policies, and their application can then be reviewed in practical terms to provide the practitioner with an understanding of the stated objectives of the host government within the context of Third World movements toward greater control over economic activities.

Finance, Rules And The Indexation Of Brazilian Government Bonds, Mark J. Roe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In roughly a dozen years, Brazil has created a sophisticated multi-billion dollar system of public debt in the midst of an unpredictable inflationary financial climate. During this time the government bonds were initially all indexed against inflation; the obligations were automatically periodically adjusted in accordance with price index changes. However, as shall be seen, the indexation of the bonds was not necessarily the cause of the expansion of the market for public debt.

The legal-economic mechanism of Brazilian indexation is not widely understood in the United States. The method used to calculate the index that provides the basis for readjusting …

The Establishment Of Foreign Bank Agencies And Branches In New York, Clifford D. Harmon

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years foreign banking associations have played an increasingly important role in the United States money market. While foreign banks have been operating in the United States since the 1870's, no substantial foreign banking existed in this country until the early 1970's. Since that time, however, there has been rapid expansion, and by 1978 there were 210 foreign bank facilities controlling $66 billion in assets in the United States. Most of this activity is confined to New York, Illinois, and California.

New York alone accounts for three quarters of all foreign bank assets in this country. Although this concentration …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

BOOKS RECEIVED

THE EXTENSION OF CORPORATE PERSONALITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW By David A. Ijalaye

Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, 1978. Pp. 354.

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HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL ORDER

By John Dugard

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. Pp. 470.

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INTERNATIONALE BANKEN: AUSLANDSAKTIVITXTEN VON BANKEN BE-DEUTENDER INDUSTRIELANDER

By Ursel Stueber

Hamburg: Verlag Weltarchiv, 1974 (1977 Supplement available). Pp. 204.

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INVESTMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAMS IN WESTERN EUROPE

By B. T.Mansbach and R. J. Waldman

Washington, D.C.: International Division, Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 1978.

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SECESSION: THE LEGITIMACY OF SELF-DETERMINATION

By Lee C. Buchheit

New Haven, …

Recent Decisions, William W. Allen, Alexander A. Hassani, Peter A. Schuller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

INCOME TAX--LIQUIDATION OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS--SHAREHOLDERS IN A LIQUIDATING FOREIGN CORPORATION MUST INCLUDE IN THE CORPORATION'S EARNINGS AND PROFITS ACCOUNT THE AMOUNT OF RECAPTURED EXCESS DEPRECIATION REALIZED UPON THE SALE OF ITS ASSETS

William W. Allen

CUSTOMS DUTIES--ANTIDUMPING ACT OF 1921--THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY HAS No AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE A WITH-HOLDING OF APPRAISEMENT PRIOR TO THE PUBLICATION OF A DUMPING FINDING BASED ON A LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY DETERMINATION BY THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Alexander A. Hassani

INTERNATIONAL BANKING--BANKRUPTCY-FOREIGN BANKS NEITHER REGULATED BY NOR LICENSED To Do BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES MAY FILE FOR VOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY UNDER THE NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY …

Legal And Economic Incentives For Foreign Direct Investment In The Southeastern United States, Paul S. Dempsey

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United States of America may well be the most attractive area for investment in the entire world. Foreign investment, although failing to play a dominant role in the American economy, has nevertheless enjoyed a substantial and significant growth in recent years. This contemporary acceleration may be attributed to a number of factors, including, for example: (a) America's enormous pool of skilled and well educated labor; (b) the narrowing of the gap between the cost of United States and foreign labor; (c) the abundance of domestic energy and other raw materials; and (d) the relative docility of the United States …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

AIR CHARTER REGULATION

By Jaap Kamp

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1976. Pp. 162. $16.50.

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ANATOMY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

By J.G. Merrills

London: Sweet& Maxwell, 1976. Pp. 106. $7.55.

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AUSTRALIAN LAWYERS AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Edited by David Hambly & John Golding

Sydney: Law Book Company, Ltd., 1976. Pp. 392.$17.50.

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COLONIAL EMANCIPATION IN THE PACIFIC AND THE CARIBBEAN

By Arnold Leibowitz

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1976. Pp. 221.$20.00.

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THE DEVELOPING COMMON MARKET

By John Paxton

Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1976. 3rd edition. Pp. 240. $25.00.

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ERSKINE MAY'S PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE

Edited by Sir David Lidderdale

London: Butterworths, 1976. …

A Report On Certain Recent Legal Developments In The International Monetary Fund, Joseph Gold

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the recent past, the main activity of the International Monetary Fund in connection with the development of international law has been the negotiation and drafting of an amendment of the Fund's Articles of Agreement. The present report deals primarily with that activity, but also comments on the sixth general review of the quotas of member states in the Fund.

On August 15, 1971, the United States, having decided to free itself from certain constraints that had become unacceptable and to exercise greater autonomy for national policies, suspended the convertibility into gold or other reserve assets of balances of United …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A COMMENTARY ON THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW ACT

By Graeme C. Hughes

Toronto: Carswell, Ltd., 1975. Pp. 214. $20.65.

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THE EXPORT TRADE: THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE By Clive M. Schmitthoff

6th ed. London: Stevens & Sons,Ltd., 1975. Pp. 461. $28.75.

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FOREIGN DISINVESTMENT BY U.S. MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS: WITH EIGHT CASE STUDIES

By Roger L. Tourneden

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. Pp. 157. $15.00.

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THE GATT LEGAL SYSTEM AND WORLD TRADE DIPLOMACY

By Robert E. Hudec

New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975. Pp. 399, $25.00.

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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS--GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS

By Jack N. Behrman, J.J. Boddeayn, & Ashok …

Legal Protection Of Loans To Developing Country Borrowers, Lajos Schmidt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

At the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944, in introducing the proposal for what is today the World Bank, John Maynard Keynes predicted: "In the dangerous and precarious days which lie ahead, the risks of the lender will be inevitably large and most difficult to calculate. The risk premium reckoned on strict commercial principles may be beyond the capacity of an impoverished borrower to meet, and may itself contribute to the risks of ultimate default." Three decades later this problem of the gap between the developed-country lender's required risk premium and the developing-country borrower's ability to generate an investment return …

Emerging Neo-Mercantilism In Canadian Policy Toward State Enterprises And Foreign Direct Investment, Douglas F. Lamont

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Canadians have written many volumes about their relative inability to preserve their domestic economy from the deepening entanglements of American foreign investment. They cite such highly visible names as Exxon and General Motors for special notice since their Canadian subsidiaries dominate their respective local industries. Canadian nationalists fear that these firms as well as others from the United States will rejuvenate the now discredited continental thesis, which calls for the economic merger of Canada and the United States into one highly-integrated North American market. So uneasy are Canadians about potential American challenges to their sovereignty that they have resurrected mercantilistic …

International Lending: The Case For Developing Nations, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As is peculiarly appropriate for any conference dealing with a rapidly developing and constantly changing area of international economic activity, both the speakers and the participants at this meeting raised more questions than were answered. A principal theme, illustrated by the papers reproduced here, was the need for careful consideration of the problem--legal and commercial-- involved in international lending on the basis of specific information concerning its effect, its promise and the needs involved. Generalizations concerning activities in developing countries are increasingly ineffective as guides to government or business policy or academic inquiry. Recent events in the Middle East confirm …

Foreign Banking In The United States, James A. Johnson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Foreign banking in the United States is no longer a nominal activity. The assets of foreign bank agencies and branches tripled from 1965 to 1972, increasing to approximately 13 billion dollars. During this same time, assets of United States banks abroad rose to 75 billion dollars-an eight-fold increase.

Yet, despite this dramatic growth--which surely will continue--the United States remains the only major country in which foreign banking is not supervised at the national level. No valid constitutional or practical reasons exist to support state control. Although New York and California, which share the major portion of foreign banking at the …

Securities Regulation In Switzerland, Roger Dagon

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Swiss system of securities regulation, to the extent that it exists at all, is primarily a system of self-regulation. The basic company law, the Code des obligations of 1911, as amended, which enumerates the minimum disclosure requirements for public offerings of foreign or domestic debt securities and for public offerings of new shares of domestic corporations, represents the only formal regulation of corporate issues. The Code exempts secondary offerings of outstanding shares as well as initial issues of foreign shares. Secondary offerings of outstanding shares and issues of new foreign shares, however, must comply with the prospectus requirements established …

Toward Greater Flexibility In The Exchange Rate Regime Of The International Monetary Fund: The Widening Of The Band, Swadesh S. Kalsi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It is a commendable achievement that, in the atmosphere of a war shattered world, it was at all possible to fashion an international currency system at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund represents a historic milestone in international cooperation. Since its inception at Bretton Woods, however, the international monetary system has been plagued by two major problems. First, the expanded use of trade constraints by countries following policies of full employment and internal price stability tends to foster a balance of payments disequilibrium; consequently, the present mechanism for adjustment is not satisfactory. Events after May …

International Agencies And The Capital Formation Process, Lester Nurick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The theme of my address will be (a) the principal means by which the international public lending institutions (principally the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development--the World Bank), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)) join with others in the channeling of funds from private, governmental and other international sources for development projects, and (b) some of the main legal problems which arise.

An operation of this kind is usually called a joint financing operation. However, it should be noted that in a sense every loan by an international organization for …