10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019

By David BermanCarl Fernandes  Nicola HiggsRob Moulton, and Charlotte Collins

The fourth post in this 10-blog series considers the latest developments in relation to the Market Abuse regime. This is taken from our wider publication: 10 Key Regulatory Focus Areas for UK/European Wholesale Markets in 2019 – Progress Report. Read the full publication here.

Legislative Decree 107/2018 clarifies new reporting obligations, disclosure obligations, and sanctions, effective September 29.

By Antonio Coletti and Isabella Porchia

Italy has published in the Italian Official Gazette Legislative Decree no. 107 of August 10, 2018, amending the Italian legislative provisions (Legislative Decree no. 58/1998) to transpose the Market Abuse Regulation no. 596/2014 (MAR). The decree will enter into force September 29, 2018 — marking Italy’s completion of the implementation process of MAR. The process began in March 2017 with the amendments to the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) Issuers Regulation.

By Isabella Porchia

The Italian Securities Commission (CONSOB) has approved two handbooks, “Management of Inside Information” and “Investment Recommendations,” which offer guidelines under Market Abuse Regulation no. 596/2014 (MAR) and delegated acts. These publications have implications for a range of market participants, including companies with listed equity and debt securities on both Italian regulated markets and multilateral trading facilities, as well as financial analysts and financial institutions acting as dealer managers and underwriters. In particular, the long-awaited handbooks clarify issues that certain provisions of MAR had raised while offering guidance on MAR’s full implementation.

The handbook on management of inside information provides guidelines for creating and implementing internal procedures involving inside information. In addition, the handbook imparts recommendations for developing and maintaining the insider register, as well as for complying with MAR’s disclosure requirements.