EU update

New Investment Services Directive

Robert Bell, Partner, Nabarro Nathanson, tel: 020 7524 6000; email rbell@nabarro.com

On 19 November 2002 the European Commission presented a proposal for a new Directive on investment services and regulated markets. It would give investment firms an effective single passport to operate EU-wide and secondly, ensure protection for investors regardless of where in the EU the firm from which they bought a financial service was located. The proposed Directive also seeks to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework to govern transaction execution by exchanges, alternative trading systems (ATSs) and investment firms.