Market Abuse Regulation for companies and corporate financiers

The EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) impacts how Main Market companies disclose inside information and maintain insider lists and alters the rules on notification of dealings by persons discharging managerial responsibilities (PDMRs) and persons closely associated with them. It also affects share buybacks, stabilisation, market soundings and research and investment recommendations.

What is MAR?

MAR is an EU regulation that replaced the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) with effect from 03 July 2016. As a regulation it has direct effect in the UK. MAR is supplemented by additional rules which will be set out in EU Implementing Regulations, Delegated Regulations and ESMA Guidance.

The EU Commission has also adopted a Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation but the UK has opted out of this Directive, and it has not therefore been implemented in the UK.

From 03 July 2016, companies have to refer to MAR and the supplemental EU legislation for the specific rules as they are no longer set out in UK legislation or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook. The amended FCA Handbook has signposts to the relevant EU provisions only but does not replicate the MAR text; the Disclosure Rules provide guidance only instead of being specific rules, and the Model Code has been deleted.

Main changes

We have taken a look at some of the questions that are coming up repeatedly - see "100 days of MAR: the top ten Q&A".

More information

See our Market Abuse Regulation knowledge centre for more information on MAR.

See our article “Market Abuse Regulation for AIM Companies” for details of how MAR impacts them.