U.K.-listed companies must comply with new EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from 3 July this year. To prepare them for this, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published changes conforming to the new regulation to its handbook, which will come into force at the same time as EU MAR will apply. The sourcebook for the new legislation is the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook.
The handbook and MAR cover a very wide range of “market abuse” from insider dealing to improper disclosure, manipulating transactions, dissemination, misleading behaviours, and distortion. They also cover reporting of infringements and of suspicious transactions, as well as a range of disclosure and transparency rules, including permissible modification of rules, information gathering and publication, suspension of trading, fees, safe harbours and sanctions, publication of information on the internet, and dealing with rumors. There is also a final chapter on other issues raised by respondents to the consultation papers that are not covered by the current regulations but which the FCA has taken under consideration.
