Market Abuse Regulation

A BOOK FOR OUR TIME: FRESH AND ERUDITE DISCUSSION ON THE EU'S MARKET ABUSE REGULATION

An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers and Reviews Editor, "The Barrister"

Balanced against the myriad advantages of a free market economy, there are inevitably, a number of downsides, most or all of which come under the category of market abuse. Within this bleak landscape, the need for Market Abuse Regulation (yes, it's capitalized) looms large.

If you are in any way involved in matters pertaining to financial services specifically within the EU, this new practitioners' text from the Oxford University Press is what you need -- the subject matter being more than a little complex.

Offering an interesting historical perspective at the outset of the discussion, the two editors, Marco Ventoruzzo and Sebastian Mock point out that the regulation of market abuse has a long history in the European Union, dating back to the 1960s, following on, you might say, from initial efforts in the US to impose regulation against 'insider trading' as the result of the 1929 stock market crash.

In Europe, a number of directives were launched from the 60s onward, aimed at curbing market abuse, notably the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) which has now been replaced by a regulation (as opposed to a directive), namely the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) around which the discussion by this book's expert contributors ultimately revolves.

MAR, as the editors explain, is 'one of the centrepieces of the new Capital Market Union (CMU) of the European Union', with far-reaching significance for law practice and research. The hoped-for outcome is that it may lower the barriers which too often separate jurists from different countries within the EU.

Whether this development will smooth the path to eventual harmonisation of EU law remains to be seen, although the editors, together with their several contributors, support the view that 'continental Europe now speaks a common legal language' in the area of market abuse. This in their opinion, is 'a major step forward toward a more uniform legal framework.'

Market abuse manifests itself in various ways, the most pervasive of which are discussed in this book. The annotated guide section (A) deals in detail with, for example, insider dealing and market manipulation, examining basic concepts as well as possible remedies available within public and private enforcement of the Market Abuse Regulation.

In the second section (B), the book's expert contributors come into their own, offering a number of viewpoints on market abuse. Particularly interesting are the sub-sections on insider information, including unlawful disclosure. Another section deals in detail with the ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) and the various issues involved in whistle-blowing mechanisms and the whistleblowers themselves. Very topical this.

International in orientation, the book nonetheless appears not to have mentioned Brexit. It can't be too far-fetched to conclude that as far as the contributors are concerned, Britain's planned exit from the EU is probably an irrelevance. Considering London's international pre-eminence in financial services, this is not a terribly comfortable assumption

Financial services practitioners, however, will be interested in acquiring this book, with its range of perspectives on regulation in general and the EU Market Abuse Regulation in particular. Researchers from a range of professions will certainly appreciate the wealth of research references offered throughout, especially in the extensive footnoting and in the tables of cases and of legislation.

The law is stated as at 1 September 2017.