Spain

Council of EU Publishes UK Issues Paper on MLD4

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On November 24, the Council of the European Union published a note (dated November 8, 2013) from the Council Presidency to Council Delegations which includes a UK issues paper on the fourth Money Laundering Directive (MLD4).  The issues paper states that the UK welcomes MLD4, but notes certain points for discussion.  In particular, the UK highlights the issue of beneficial ownerships of companies and misuse of trusts.

The UK suggests that central registries of company beneficial ownership would help to break through corporate secrecy and reveal who truly owns companies.  To further this aim, the UK has pledged to make the UK’s central registry of company beneficial ownership publically accessible.  The UK is also taking part in an automatic information exchange pilot with France, Italy, Spain and Germany in order to tackle tax evasion and the use of trusts for illegal purposes.

According to an EU press release, these issues were discussed at the November 2013 ECOFIN conference.  Note.  Press Release. 

New Temporary Short Selling Bans Introduced by Spain, Italy and Greece

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On July 23, Spain, Italy and Greece introduced new temporary bans in relation to short selling in response to the recent extreme volatility in the European financial markets.

The Comisiòn Nacional del Mercado de Valores (“CNMV”) has decided to ban short selling on Spanish regulated markets with immediate effect. The ban will apply for three months until October 23, although CNMV may choose to extend it for a further period.

The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (“CONSOB”) announced a ban on short selling in respect of shares of certain companies in the Italian banking and insurance sectors that will last from July 23 to July 27.

In addition, on July 24, Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission (“HCMC”) announced an extension to the current short selling prohibition on the Athens Stock Exchange for an additional three months until October 31. Press Release.

For further details, please see updated version of the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”)’s table of members’ short selling measures. Updated Version.