Company directors oppose NZ insider trading Bill

Currently, directors and officers are allowed to buy or sell shares during designated periods such as after a company reports quarterly financial results. This provides assurance that inside information is not used in trades by directors – protecting directors, shareholders and the market. But the Bill, reports the New Zealand Herald, removes this window as a defence to insider trading liability. The institute says this may discourage any buying or selling. Full report in the New Zealand Herald

Similar legislation in the UK is causing confusion. The Financial Times reports bankers and lawyers in London have warned of confusion over insider trading rules after the government struck a compromise over the implementation of the EU’s market abuse directive. The directive offers specific definitions of market abuse, while the UK rules adopt a broader definition, qualified with the requirement that behaviour is only abusive if it is likely to be regarded as such by a ‘regular user’ of the market. Tim Plews, joint head of the finance and capital markets practice at Clifford Chance, said: ‘There will be four overlapping tiers of law on market abuse. This makes it quite difficult for company directors, investment bankers and traders to know where they stand.’ Full report in the Financial Times