Property Rights in Investment Securities and the Doctrine of Specificity

This book evaluates the requirement for specificity as a criterion for property rights in securities evidenced by electronic entries made on securities accounts. It compares English, US and Swedish law with the aim of finding viable solutions.

This book is, with some adjustments and additions, largely based on my PhD thesis on Property Rights in Investment Securities and the Doctrine of Speci?city, which I defended in London on 15 June 2007 with Professor Lars Gorton and Dr. Kern Alexander as examiners. The subject matter is the doctrine of speci?city and its non-conformity with the developments in the ?nancial markets. As this book shows, the requirement for speci?city in book-entry securities is closely linked to loss allocation. If we decided that the rights that the investor has against its intermediary shall be property rights (as opposed to claims), then, loss allocation is crucial. Should the intermediary become insolvent and there be ins- ?cient securities, the shortfall has to be distributed. Through segregation on des- nated accounts the level of protection for the investor can be increased. It can also be increased by a requirement that the intermediary should hold a suf?cient number of securities corresponding to its customers securities. During the course of this work I have received valuable assistance from s- eral persons, for which I am very grateful. First of all, I am indebted to Tekn. dr. Marcus Wallenbergs Stiftelse for utbildning i internationellt industriellt for etagande and For etagsjuridik Nord & Co for the ?nancial support they have provided.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Erica Johansson is a partner in Delphi's Banking and Finance Group. She has extensive experience in advising leading financial institutions on derivatives and structured finance transactions, including advising on credit, equity, FX, index linked and OTC derivatives, hedging aspects of securitisation and project finance transactions and derivatives transactions with pension funds. Erica Johansson also advises clients on cash CDOs, securitisations, structured notes, repos, repackagings, securities lending and margining arrangements, restructurings and banking and finance matters generally. Prior to joining Delphi, she worked with derivatives and structured finance at two major international law firms in London. She is a leading expert in the area of intermediated securities and has also acted as a legal consultant to the World Bank.

Inhalt
The New Order.- Developments of the Securities Markets.- The Use of Collateral in the Securities Markets.- Property Rights in Securities and the Doctrine of Specificity under English Law.- Property Rights in Securities and the Doctrine of Specificity under Swedish Law.- Property Rights in Securities and the Doctrine of Specificity under US Law.- Securities as Property.- Property Rights in Securities and the Doctrine of Specificity: A Comparative Analysis with an Outlook De Lege Ferenda.