Month: August 2011

In these current economic times, it is perhaps unsurprising that there is an increase in disputes involving financial institutions.  Whether it is domestic issues like payment protection insurance, or international issues like the collapse of long-standing financial institutions, practitioners and students need sound judgment to predict how the Court will resolve any conflicts.  Principles of International Financial Law aims to provide readers with a sound foundation to allow those judgments to be made.

Written by Colin Bamford, a barrister and former solicitor of more than twenty years’ experience, Principles of International Financial Law is split into eleven chapters: introduction; money; payment; personal and property rights; intangibles as property; the legal nature of the international bond market; fiduciary duties and how they arise; fiduciary duties in financial markets; credit support in financial markets; security interests; and the construction of financial contracts.  While it puts financial law into an international context, Principles of International Financial Law expertly considers English law.

Bamford’s writing style is both engaging and accessible.  He expertly considers the important foundations of the law with the key decisions from the Courts.  Of particular interest to anyone dealing with domestic payment protection insurance disputes are two excellent chapters on fiduciary duties.  It has often been baldy argued by borrowers that the broker or the lender owes a generic fiduciary duty to borrowers.  Bamford rightly points out that fiduciary duties are generally the exception rather than the rule.  He does not, however, make it clear that breaches of the Financial Services Authority’s Principles for Business are excluded from Section 150 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by PRIN 3.4.4.

For anyone studying international or domestic financial law, or practising in this area of law, Bamford’s Principles of International Financial Law is an excellent addition to their library.  It expertly covers the main topics in a thought-provoking way.  Publishing a student edition, which at less than £50 is around half of the price of the hardback version, should mean that students who may otherwise find this text out of their price range will have chance to read it.  Those that do will have a better understanding of financial law, how it works in practice and, importantly, be in a good position to judge how the law will be shaped in the future.

Reviewed on 29 August 2011