EC securities regulation

Book abstract:

The last five years has seen the EC securities market pass through a major transformation. Regulation lawmaking procedures, market practices, and market structures have evolved at a remarkable pace. This work examines the EC's system of regulation and seeks to provide a consolidation and critical assessment of those EC rules which deal with the securities and investment services markets and their participants, such as issuers, investors, investment-services providers, and collective investment schemes.

The book is organised in seven parts. Following a comprehensive introduction (which forms part I) the second part looks at investment products and examines the regulation of issuer access to the securities markets, in particular the admission to official listing and issuer disclosure regime and collective investment schemes. Part III addresses the secondary markets, such as investment intermediaries who provide investment services. The securities trading markets and their role as access channel for investors, particularly retail investors, is examined in part IV. The EC's market abuse regime is covered in part V which looks at the pathology of securities regulation. Part VI considers take-over regulation. The institutional structure of EC securities regulation is examined in the final part. The dual role of regulation and integration of securities regimes with cross-border implications is a constant theme throughout the book.

The book will interest all those engaged in Financial Services Regulation be they students, scholars, policy researchers or practitioners.

Niamh Moloney is Lecturer in Law at Queen's University, Belfast.