part i Introduction to electronic finance and Internet
banking 5
1 Internet banking in Europe: basic concepts and
recent trends 7
The Internet as catalyst of international
financial integration 7
Internet banking in Europe 20
2 The legal foundations of electronic banking
activities 29
The banker–customer relationship 29
vii
Electronic finance and credit 40
Online securities trading 42
part ii Online banking and international market access: The
causes of incomplete financial integration and what
to do about them 49
3 Legal barriers and necessary regulatory reforms 51
The causes of incomplete European integration in online
financial services 51
International governance of cross-border
electronic commerce and finance 63
EU policies aVecting electronic commerce in
financial services 73
4 The governance of the European market in cross-border
electronic banking activities 82
Introduction 82
Institutional foundations of the single European market in
financial services 84
Mutual recognition of national laws as institutional
principle 86
Mutual recognition beyond the EC Treaty: ‘home country’
control in various forms as institutional anchor of the
single financial market 99
Minimum harmonization of national laws and
enforcement practices as prerequisites of mutual
viii C O N T E N T S
recognition of national laws and ‘home country’
control 123
part iii EU harmonization and convergence of national laws
relating to electronic banking activities 135
5 Risks and regulatory concerns relating to electronic banking
activities and the convergence of national prudential
regulatory standards 137
Convergence of national laws and the notion of ‘general
good’ in the single European market 137
Risks and prudential regulatory concerns caused by
electronic banking activities 148
Non-EU international initiatives of legal harmonization
concerning electronic banking activities 150
EU harmonization measures in the field of prudential
banking regulation 154
The prudential regulation of electronic banking activities in
key European countries 156
6 EU measures of legal harmonization concerning electronic
commerce and distance marketing of financial services,
data protection, banking contracts and investor
protection 165
E-commerce and distance marketing of
financial services 165
Privacy and data protection 179
C O N T E N T S ix
The harmonization of national laws of
banking contracts 183
Online bank loans and the Consumer
Credit Directive 205
Convergence of national laws regulating the provision of
online investment services 213
Assessing the level of convergence of national
laws regulating Internet banking 226
part iv Applicable law and allocation of regulatory responsibility
in cross-border electronic banking activities 229
7 Cross-border Internet banking and the principle
of ‘home country’ control in the EU Financial
Services Directives 231
Introduction 231
Cross-border Internet banking without the benefit of
‘home country’ regulation and supervision 232
Mutual recognition of national laws on the
basis of ‘home country’ control in the Banking
and Investment Services Directives 237
The notion of ‘general good’ in the Banking Consolidation
Directive 242
‘Host country’ powers to apply domestic laws in nonprudential
matters 243
x C O N T E N T S
8 Mutual recognition of national laws under the principle
of ‘country of origin’ of the Electronic Commerce
Directive 262
Scope of application of the ‘country of origin’
rule 262
The ‘coordinated field’ 266
The implementation of the ‘country of origin’
principle 278
The case-by-case derogation of Article 3(4)–(6) 281
The normative impact of the principle of ‘country of
origin’ 286
9 Applicable law and jurisdiction in cross-border electronic
banking contracts 289
International contracts, conflicts of laws and European
financial integration 290
Choice of law and choice of jurisdiction in cross-border
banking contracts 292
Choice of law and forum in consumer contracts 296
Choice of law and the impact of mandatory rules 305
Conclusions 310