Globally, there has been a shift from securities being held directly by an investor, to a situation in which many securities are held via an intermediary. The existence of one or more intermediaries between the investor and the issuer has a potentially significant impact on the rights of the investor, the role and obligations of the issuer, and on the position and responsibilities of the intermediary. However, different jurisdictions have dealt with the issues arising from intermediation in a variety of ways. In the UK, for example, the concept of a trust is used to explain the different rights and obligations which arise in this scenario, whereas in the US the issues have been addressed by legislation, in the form of UCC Article 8. This variety is problematic, given that it is possible for an investor to hold securities in a number of different jurisdictions. A new UNIDROIT Convention on the issue of Intermediated Securities, the Geneva Securities Convention 2009, aims to create a common framework for dealing with these issues. This collection of essays explores the issues that arise when securities are held via an intermediary, and in particular assesses the solutions put forward by the new Convention on this issue. It will be essential reading for practitioners and academics.
In today's financial markets, investors no longer hold securities physically. Instead, securities such as shares or bonds are mostly held through intermediaries and transferred by way of book-entries on securities accounts. However, there are remarkable conceptual differences between the various jurisdictions with regard to the legal treatment of intermediated securities. It is widely agreed that this patchwork creates considerable legal risks, especially in cross-border situations. Two initiatives are in place to reduce these risks. In 2009, the UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities (the 'Geneva Securities Convention') was adopted, aimed at harmonisation on the international level. The EU Commission is also running a legislative project, to achieve harmonisation at the regional level. This book compares both initiatives and analyses their impact on the securities laws of selected European jurisdictions.
This book examines property issues in respect of intermediated securities under English law, namely title and title conflicts between a true owner and a purchaser. Intangible book entry securities held with an intermediary, often commingled with the holdings of other clients of the intermediary, often give rise to uncertainty in property rights in the securities of an investor under most legal systems, for example, whether property rights can be established and how title conflicts are dealt with. This book identifies the flexible framework of English property law for establishing property rights over commingled intangibles, in particular through trusts; establishes the policy of priority rules as of comparing the merits of rights and preferring a vested right of a true owner over a subsequent purchaser, particularly a vested right under fiduciary relations. The book works towards the conclusion that, given the general principle of English property law for vested rights, title conflicts may be tilted towards purchasers in a mild rather than a radical way, by introducing a good faith purchaser rule to intermediated securities or leaving it to judicial discretion where an estoppel might work in favour of a purchaser. This book is suitable for lawyers, officials and academics in the field of intermediated securities, as well as trust, property and financial regulation.
A comprehensive guide to companies legislation in a convenient paperback volume. Written from the perspective of the 2006 regime, it gives detailed section-by-section commentary alongside the Companies Act 2006 and surviving parts of the previous legislation as well as including the text of relevant statutory instruments.
As the volume of transactions in European financial markets continues to grow, the use of financial collateral, be it in the form of cash, shares, bonds or credit claims, has become a critical tool in supporting and managing risk in financial transactions. This book is the first of its kind to offer a systematic examination of the whole law relating to financial collateral. It does so in two parts. First, it explains the law created by the Financial Collateral Arrangements (No 2) Regulations 2003, the Directive it implemented and related legislation. Second, it examines how financial collateral is used in practice in a range of different markets. It will be an essential reference point for all legal practitioners operating in financial markets. Key features: • Analytical rigour combined with insight into how financial collateral works in practice, covering both English and Scots law • Valuable discussion of control and possession tests, right of use, remedy of appropriation, close-out netting and impact of ‘bail-in’ • Explains use of financial collateral in the derivatives market, clearing houses, direct and indirect securities holding systems and use of repos, securities lending and prime brokerage • Highlights key issues on regulatory treatment and conflicts of laws • Discusses direction of future law reform • Written by leading experts in the field.
This book evaluates the requirement for specificity as a criterion for property rights in securities evidenced by electronic entries made on securities accounts. It compares English, US and Swedish law with the aim of finding viable solutions.
Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 2005, the world of financial investment has experienced an unprecedented boom followed by a spectacular bust. Significant changes have been proposed and in some cases implemented in areas such as the structure of regulation, the organisation of markets, supervision of market participants and the protection of consumers. The second edition takes account of these developments, integrating them into an analytical framework that enables the reader to develop a critical overview of the role of general legal rules and specialised systems of regulation in financial investment. The framework focuses on the role of contract, trusts and regulation as the primary legal influences for financial investment. The first part explores the relationship between investment, law and regulation. The second part examines the nature of investments and investors, both professional and private. The third part discusses the central role of corporate finance and corporate governance in linking investors with enterprises that require external capital. The fourth part examines the nature, operation and regulation of markets and the participants that support the functioning of the markets. The objective remains to provide a broadly-based and critical account of the role of law in financial investment. "MacNeil's eloquent and informative distillation of the regulatory fundamentals of investment law gives his book much international relevance...a timely contribution to help readers decipher the seemingly inextricable maze of financial regulation...Practitioners and legal policy advisers will..welcome it. They should find enlightening the book's careful scrutiny of the trust and contractual foundations of investment law and practice." Benjamin J Richardson Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation, Vol 22 Issue 1, 2007 ...a fascinating and informative book...thoroughly recommended as a learned but at the same time very readable introduction to the law of financial investment Gerard McCormack Banking and Finance Law Review, Volume 21 No 2, June 2006 ...very informative tool that introduces in a very friendly and accessible manner the nearly inextricable world of financial investment laws. Fadi Moghaizel International Company and Commercial Law Review, Vol. 17 No 2, February 2006
