FSA Consults again on Market Abuse Code

Joanna Gray

Scope of Code

A Draft Code of Market Conduct was published for consultation by FSA towards the end of July (CP 59) that deserves the most careful and considered attention from all those engaged in dealings in exchange based investments. This Code is of importance not just to specialist ‘financial regulatory’ advisers but to a wider range of corporate finance advisers too. This has because, as has been pointed out in the FRR before, that part of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 which creates and provides sanctions to support the new market abuse regime (Part VIII FSM Act 2000) is of potentially far wider application than firms and individuals operating within the regulated community as authorised and approved persons respectively. The concept of market abuse is widely defined in section 118 FSM Act as certain types of behaviour, which occurs in relation to qualifying investments, traded on a prescribed market. HM Treasury is proposing to prescribe by way of Statutory Instrument, those investments admitted to trading under the rules of the UK Recognised Investment Exchanges (currently the LSE, LIFFE, LME, IPE, OMLX, Tradepoint, and Coredeal).