Financial services in Europe. An introductory overview

This volume provides a ‘ground up’ survey, from a business law point of view, of the concept of finance as a vital component of the economic structure of the European Communities. In detail it describes the architecture of the financial system, its institutions (banks, stock exchanges, etc.), the variety of financial instruments, the progress of liberalisation and harmonisation initiatives in Europe, relevant EC legislation, regulation of capital markets and securities, the development of international financial law, and the management of legal risk. The essays in this book grew out of lecture courses delivered under the auspices of the PALLAS Consortium organised by nine universities in seven EU Member States. Among the wealth of material covered, the reader will find, among much else, precise and interrelated explanations of the following:

• the transferring, sharing and insuring of risks
• relevant contractual arrangements
• the intermediation and distribution functions of financial institutions
• primary markets versus secondary markets
• money markets versus capital markets
• stock market ‘players’
• the role of letters of credit
• pension funds
• the management of payment systems.

The book charts a middle way between a ‘top down’ EU regulatory perspective and a strictly national framework — a method that supports and reinforces a practice-oriented approach corresponding to the ‘real world’ in which domestic and cross-border aspects of financial services are inevitably intertwined.

Contents:
1. The Financial System and Institutions - Gustavo Visentini and Mirta Musolino
2. Financial Services in the EU: Harmonisation and Liberalization - Martinjn van Empel
3. Capital Markets - Paul Sebastianutti
4. Funding and Securtity - S. Sami H. Chowdhury
5. Letters of Credit in a Trade Finance Perspective - Lars Gorton
6. Retail Payments in the EU - Martijn van Empel