Internet Banking and the Law in Europe

Associate, US Capital Markets Group, Shearman & Sterling (London) LLP.

Abbreviations; List of figures and tables; Preface; Introduction; Part I. Introduction to Electronic Finance and Internet Banking: 1. Internet banking in Europe: basic concepts and recent trends; 2. The legal foundations of electronic banking activities; Part II. Online Banking and International Market Access: The Causes of Incomplete Financial Integration and What To Do About Them: 3. How excessive regulation and legal uncertainty affect cross-border electronic banking and why policy reforms are justified; 4. The governance of the European market in cross-border electronic banking activities: why mutual recognition of national laws on the basis of 'home country' control is the best institutional choice; Part III. EU Harmonization and Convergence of National Laws Relating to Electronic Banking Activities: 5. Risks and regulatory concerns relating to electronic banking activities and the convergence of national prudential regulatory standards; 6. EU measures of legal harmonization concerning electronic commerce and distance marketing of financial services, data protection, banking contracts and investor protection; Part IV. Applicable Law and Allocation of Regulatory Responsibility in Cross-border Electronic Banking Activities: 7. Cross-border Internet banking and the principle of 'home country' control in the EU financial services directives; 8. Mutual recognition of national laws under the principle of 'country of origin' of the Electronic Commerce Directive; 9. Applicable law and jurisdiction in cross-border electronic banking contracts; Conclusions; Select bibliography.