Monthly Brief, September 2008

In this issue:

• Reform of the Finnish Securities Market Act

• No sanctions on the three largest retail groups in Finland for exchange of confidential information

• Court of Appeals' Decision on Circumvention of an Effective Technological Measure

CORPORATE

Reform of the Finnish Securities Market Act

The Finnish Ministry of Finance has started preparations for a reform of the Finnish Securities Market Act (the "SMA"). The main purpose of the reform will be to evaluate the functionality and efficiency of the SMA in the changing market environment. The current SMA was introduced in 1989 when the main players i.e. the issuers, securities dealers and the stock exchange were national. After the entry into force of the SMA, there have been numerous developments in the securities markets including the EU-wide harmonisation of regulation and the increase of foreign market participants on the Finnish securities market.