Co-authored by Tim Aron.

On February 27, the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it had prohibited short selling of the shares of four named Italian financial institutions for the duration of the February 27 trading day. The prohibition applied to all UK trading venues on which the shares are traded. The FSA stated that it had imposed the prohibition to assist the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), the Italian regulator, following the imposition by CONSOB of a similar one-day short selling ban. Continue Reading One-Day Prohibition Imposed on Short Selling of Four Italian Shares

Co-authored by Tim Aron.

On February 8, the European Commission issued an announcement concerning the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) made under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (Regulation 648/2012)) issued in December 2012 (as reported in Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest of December 21, 2012). The announcement followed the withdrawal of a motion before the European Parliament by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) to reject the RTS.Continue Reading European Commission Announcement Concerning EMIR Regulatory Technical Standards

Co-authored by Tim Aron.

On February 11, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published final guidelines (Guidelines) on remuneration of alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs). The Guidelines follow from, and add detail to, the remuneration provisions contained in Annex II of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/EU). The Guidelines will apply to managers of alternative investment funds (AIFs). AIFs include hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds. Non-EU AIFMs which market AIFs to EU investors under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive’s marketing passport will also be subject to the guidelines after a transitional period.Continue Reading ESMA Issues AIFM Remuneration Guidelines

On January 31, the Spanish securities regulator, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), announced that the prohibition on short sales of Spanish shares under the EU Short Selling Regulation (EU236/2012) would end with effect from February 1. This prohibition, imposed on November 1, 2012 for a period of three months (as reported in the November 2, 2012, edition of Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest), continued a ban originally introduced by the CNMV on July 23, 2012.Continue Reading Spanish Short Sales Ban Ends, Greek Ban Continues

Co-authored by Tim Aron.

On December 19, the European Commission adopted nine technical standards which clarify certain aspects of Regulation 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties (CCPs) and trade repositories (generally known as the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation or EMIR). The technical standards provide clarity in regard to the European rules for the mandatory clearing and reporting of OTC derivatives transactions.Continue Reading European Commission Adopts EMIR Technical Standards on OTC Derivatives