'The book offers insights into the securities holding systems and their legal implications, and the adaptation of traditional law to new situations - and creation of new legal mechanisms - with its comparative law survey. … This book is a great contribution to the scholarship and legislative efforts on intermediated securities.' Wenwen Liang, Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation

In today's financial markets, investors no longer hold securities physically. Instead, securities such as shares or bonds are mostly held through intermediaries and transferred by way of book-entries on securities accounts. However, there are remarkable conceptual differences between the various jurisdictions with regard to the legal treatment of intermediated securities. It is widely agreed that this patchwork creates considerable legal risks, especially in cross-border situations. Two initiatives are in place to reduce these risks. In 2009, the UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities (the 'Geneva Securities Convention') was adopted, aimed at harmonisation on the international level. The EU Commission is also running a legislative project, to achieve harmonisation at the regional level. This book compares both initiatives and analyses their impact on the securities laws of selected European jurisdictions.

Part I. The Geneva Securities Convention and the Future European Legislation in Comparison: 1. The Geneva Securities Convention: objectives, history, and guiding principles Luc Thévenoz
2. Objectives and policies underlying the harmonisation of securities law in the EU Philipp Paech
3. Rights of the account holder relating to securities credited to its securities account Philippe Dupont
4. The rights of the investor under the Geneva Securities Convention and the proposal of a European securities law legislation Pierre-Henri Conac
5. The transfer of intermediated securities Luc Thévenoz
6. The truth about shortfall of intermediated securities: perspectives under the Geneva Securities Convention, United States law, and the future EU Legislation on Securities Holding Charles Mooney
7. The concept of integrity in intermediated holding systems Hubert de Vauplane
Part II. Impact on Securities Laws of Selected European Jurisdictions: 8. Intermediated securities under Belgian law: assessing the impact of the UNIDROIT Convention on the regulatory environment Michel Tison and Lientje Van den Steen
9. The Geneva Securities Convention, the future European legislation and their impact on French securities laws Philippe Langlet
10. The Geneva Securities Convention, the future European legislation and their impact on German law Ulrich Segna
11. The Geneva Securities Convention and the Swiss intermediated securities law reform Hans Kuhn
12. The proposed EU legislation on securities holding Habib Motani
13. The Geneva Convention: a Spanish perspective Francisco Garcimartín
Appendix I. UNIDROIT Convention on Substantive Rules for Intermediated Securities
Appendix II. EU Securities Law Directive: compilation of the rules discussed so far by the Member States' Working Group.

Subject Areas: Company, commercial & competition law [LNC], Transnational commercial law [LBDK], Comparative law [LAM], Law [L]