Capital Markets Forum

The Capital Markets Forum works with the Banking, Insurance, Investment Funds and Securities Law Committees to form the Financial Services Section.

The Capital Markets Forum is a private sector initiative set up to monitor and assist in the orderly development of capital markets, while recognising the importance of the legal role in providing a framework in which market forces can work most efficiently, and in settling the parameters of fair behaviour.

Membership is open to non-lawyers to enable a practical interaction and communication channel between business lawyers, market professionals and regulators. Forum members have the opportunity to contribute on a practical level to the activities of the forum via discussion groups established to comment on 'hot topics' of concern to practitioners.

Forthcoming conferences and webinars View All Conferences

IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025

02 Nov - 07 Nov 2025

Toronto , Canada

Publications
All articles

The Indian green bond market: a step towards ‘green financing’ in a growing taxonomy

Over the last few years, the Indian government has taken measures towards environmental sustainability along with economic growth. The Finance Minister, while tabling the Union Budget 2023–24, specified green growth as one of the seven priorities of the Indian government and in doing so, the aim of achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2070 was highlighted.

Released on Mar 15, 2023

Turkish crowdfunding

On 27 October 2021, the Crowdfunding Communiqué No. III – 35/A.2 (the ‘Communiqué’) was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette and the existing Communiqué on Equity-Based Crowdfunding dated 3 October 2019 was abolished. Through the new Communiqué, a ‘debt-based’ crowdfunding mechanism was introduced and the main principles for ‘equity-based’ and ‘debt-based’ fundings are regulated in detail.

Released on Jul 13, 2022

Hot topics in governance of executive remuneration during the 2022 AGM season

Public scrutiny has increased in the arena of executive remuneration generally but in the wake of annual general meeting (AGM) season, the world has been watching. Director's remuneration can often be an area of contention with shareholders and AGM season particularly casts a light on the challenges faced by boards as shareholders have their say on pay. 2022 has been no different. This article sets out some of the issues that remuneration committees have had to face during the 2022 AGM season.

Released on Jul 06, 2022

Sustainable securitisations: tapping into the ‘old’ to catch the wave of new opportunities

Financing that takes into account ESG factors has gained prominence over several years and ESG products such as bonds, loans and securitisations have attracted the attention of the market. Yet, the sustainable securitisation market is facing challenges and concerns. Building upon the recent European Banking Authority report, the article offers insight into how to get the most out of the available or upcoming tools as an intermediate step to allow the sustainable securitisation market to develop to its full potential. It also glances through relevant Italian legislation and how it can be positively influenced by recent developments at the EU level.

Released on Jul 04, 2022

Projects

Survey on ESG public disclosures

This survey aims to assess how different jurisdictions regulate environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures and to determine whether and to what extent ESG disclosures are now mandatory due to prevailing regulatory trends and institutional investors’ demands. The importance of addressing this problem lies in the fact that ESG factors are increasingly becoming important to investors, and companies that fail to provide transparent and accurate ESG disclosures risk losing investor confidence and facing reputational damage.

Left unaddressed, the lack of clear regulations and guidance around ESG disclosures could lead to inconsistent and inadequate reporting, making it difficult for investors to make informed decisions. This could ultimately result in a lack of trust in the capital markets and, in turn, negatively impact the legal profession and society as a whole. Additionally, failure to address ESG disclosures could result in increased regulatory scrutiny, legal liability and reputational damage for companies that do not comply with regulations. Overall, the importance of addressing this issue lies in ensuring transparency and accuracy in ESG reporting, which is critical for sustainable and responsible investing and a healthy capital market ecosystem.

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International Selling Restrictions

The Capital Markets Forum has undertaken a project to monitor international selling restrictions by jurisdiction. At the project webpage, you will see information on selling restrictions in various jurisdictions that apply to offerings of equity securities by companies incorporated outside the jurisdiction.

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