The European Commission has responded to a request from the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) to clarify the definition of “financial instruments” under Directive 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instruments (“MiFID”) which is used in defining  under Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (“EMIR”). The lack of clarity […]

Signing a document is a simple method of confirming the agreement of contracting parties. It provides comfort and certainty as to the personal involvement of that person and means that signatures can be checked, for example, against bank mandates. Finding an electronic equivalent is necessary to the continued growth and development of e-commerce. However, it […]