The Market Abuse Directive II (MAD II) goes into effect this year. The new regulation will require firms to enhance employee supervision and take closer look at their organizational compliance practices. For those unfamiliar, MyComplianceOffice has compiled five fast facts to serve as an introduction.
1) MAD II is a new regulation issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), an independent EU Authority that contributes to safeguarding the stability of the European Union's financial system.
2) MAD II gets its name because it will replace the Market Abuse Directive, but it’s actually made up of two documents: the Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation 596/2014) (MAR) and the Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Market Abuse (Directive 2014/57/EU) (CSMAD).
3) The purpose of MAD II is to update and expand the scope of the existing marketing abuse directive in order to strengthen market integrity, prevent insider trading and protect investors. For this reason, the definitions of market manipulation, insider trading and what qualifies as market abuse will be broadened.
4) MAD II will impact investment firms in the European Union, including investment banks, portfolio managers, stockbrokers and broker dealers, corporate finance firms, futures and options firms, and some commodities firms.
5) It goes into effect in July 2016!
