The European Financial Market in Transition

by Birkmose, Hanne S.; Neville, Mette; Sorensen, Karsten Engsig

• ISBN13: 9789041133601
• ISBN10: 9041133607
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-30
• Publisher: Kluwer Law Intl

Summary

Substantial changes are taking place in the European financial market. This ispartly due to developments in the markets (including the financial crisis ofrecent years), and partly due to the changes in the regulatory agenda of theEU which involves review of several core directives and which also hasresulted in two green papers on corporate governance and the report from theReflection Group. The aim of this book is twofold. First, to describe andanalyse some of the most important changes that have emerged in Europe inrecent years, and second, analyse whether more regulatory changes are beingcalled for.Focusing on three themes takeovers, shareholder democracy, and the reshapingof the framework for the European financial market in this milestone volume22 European academics, practitioners, and policymakers describe and analysethe most important recent changes and emerging trends in the market, itsregulation, and its relation to corporate governance and company law. Amongthe issues treated in depth are the following: ;the need for a reform of the Takeover Directive;; disclosure of cash-settled derivatives; ; disclosure by companies ofinformation on barriers to takeovers; ; the efficiency of the 'comply andexplain' principle; ; the enhanced focus on 'sustainable returns andlong-term performance' in the Green Paper from 2011; ; the costs ofshareholder activism; ; winning coalitions versus ownership concentration;; legal proceedings brought by shareholders against companies; ; theprinciple of shareholder primacy in company law; ; engaging institutionalinvestors in decision-making processes; ; shareholder opportunism; ; hiddenownership and empty voting as a corporate governance challenge; ; the newsupervisory structure for financial institutions; ; the handling of systemicrisk; ; regulation of the alternative fund industry; ; balance among fundgovernance, market governance, and stakeholder governance; ; the fragmentationof trading venues; and ; pre-IPO trading of shares on private secondary markets.This very thorough overview will be welcomed by both practitioners andacademics interested in the working and development of the European financialmarket.