This study provides an overview of UK infrastructure investment and finance in an international context, yielding interesting facts insights for both investors and policy makers worldwide. The UK is one of the leading countries in terms of private sector involvement in infrastructure, with...

The global financial crisis triggered a vast number of new laws and regulations at international level, including initiatives that can be classified as "soft law". The legitimacy and efficacy of these new norms are subject to intensive academic and political debates. At the same time, soft law...

As a response to multiple financial shocks, international standards have disappointed. Consensus-seeking has stifled innovation, perpetuating outdated regulatory concepts at a time of rapid market change. Different forces are at work now. Markets are complex and idiosyncratic; they may not be...

The main focus of our paper is to show how the procyclicality phenomenon on financial markets caused by the central clearing activity, should be incorporated into the initial margin calculation of the central counterparties (CCP), based on the effective regulation in the European Union, the so...

Just over three years after enacting a Minimum Exchange Rate policy for the Swiss Franc vs. Euro (EUR/CHF), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removed it in a surprise announcement on January 15, 2015. The announcement shocked the FX market — EUR/CHF dropped 25.5 percent in the minutes that...

With a rapidly aging population, Portugal faces some serious pension challenges including a Social Security system which is under pressure, and pension benefits gradually approaching levels that will require individuals to supplement Social Security with private savings. In addition, Portugal...

A repurchase agreement (repo) is the sale of financial assets coupled with a promise to repurchase the same assets at a later date. With similar economic characteristics to secured loans and bank deposits, the repo market is one of the main sources of liquidity for the financial system. Having...

Although the EU has achieved an impressive degree of harmonization in the securities laws of its member states, it has not yet advanced any effective collective private remedies for violations of those securities laws. This is especially noteworthy since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in...

The ESMA has the power under Article 17 of its statutory Regulation to investigate and take further action concerning the failure of a national competent authority to comply with its obligations under the legislation referred to in Article 1(2) of that Regulation and in general if it has not...

We examine whether sovereign credit risk shocks emanating from the GIIPS countries had an effect on central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia (the Visegrad group). In addition to the GIIPS and Visegrad group countries we als include Austria, France and...