ECMI Research Reports


1 - 6 of 6

MiFID Implementation in the midst of the Financial Crisis: Results of an ECMI Survey
04 February 2011

Bashir Assi, Diego Valiante

This report summarises the main results of a survey conducted by the European Capital Markets Institute (ECMI) during the period December 2009 - July 2010. The survey aims to investigate the actual implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), two years after it came into force. A general finding of this survey is that MiFID rules have had a positive impact, in particular, through fostering a more competitive environment, which has promoted, inter alia, cuts in trading fees and massive investment in technologies and infrastructure.

Shaping Reforms and Business Models for the OTC Derivatives Market: Quo vadis?
15 April 2010
Diego Valiante

Now that the worst of the financial storm is over, regulators are setting new strategies to deal with the systemic importance of the €427 trillion ($604 trillion) over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. This paper explores the three major sources of disruptive effects in OTC derivatives: liquidity, counterparty risk and legal uncertainty. These risks affect the value chain of a typical derivative transaction and weaken the economic and legal rationale behind their widespread use.

Fairness Opinions and Capital Markets: Evidence from Germany, Switzerland and Austria
07 January 2009

Sebasian Lobe, Nils-Christian Schenk

This paper provides the first empirical evidence of fairness opinions in Europe. Legal requirements concerning the use of fairness opinions in mergers and acquisitions are significantly different in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. We examine the determinants of fairness opinions for target firms in these various regulatory settings, and moreover, investigate the impact of such opinions on the abnormal returns of target firms. While in Germany and Austria market participants do not deem fairness opinions important, they do create value for shareholders in Switzerland.

The Need for Transparency in Commodity and Commodity Derivatives Markets
15 December 2008
Piero Cinquegrana

This paper argues that transparency-boosting measures specifically tailored to commodity and commodity derivatives markets are much needed. In particular, encouraging the creation of a clearing infrastructure for OTC commodity and commodity derivatives markets would be desirable. Moreover, EU regulators should consider setting up a new, more effective market abuse regime aimed at preventing manipulation in both the physical and financial commodities markets.

A Survey of the European IPO Market
18 August 2006

Jean-François Gajewski, Carole Gresse

Based on a sample of 15 European countries, this survey analyses various features of the European IPO (Initial Public Offering) market over the period from 1995 to 2004: listing requirements, IPO-mechanism choices, performance and secondary market liquidity.

The One-Share-One-Vote Controversy in the EU
03 August 2006
Arman Khachaturyan

The proposal by the European Commission (EC) to establish shareholder democracy and mandate the one-share-one-vote (1S1V) rule has drawn much attention and controversy. In the pursuit of enhancing the rule’s popular appeal, EC policy-makers have tried to make equiproportional representation nearly an aphorism tied to corporate egalitarian sentiments underscoring justice, fairness and ethics.