The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is the most important piece of legislation in the financial services area for many years. It overhauls and unifies the arrangement for oversight of banking, insurance and other investment services. Under the title of Market Abuse, it introducesradical new sanctions to restrain abuse of financial markets. It establishes the Financial Services Authority as a powerful, active and near-universal regulator of the United Kingdom's financial services industry. It also creates, for the benefit of consumers, a statutory Financial Ombudsman Serviceto enable financial disputes to be resolved quickly and informally, and a Financial Services Compensation Scheme to unify arrangements for depositor and policyholder protection and investor compensation. The Act will have widespread influence in the lives and businesses of all concerned withfinancial services, whether as part of the marketplace or as users of the services which it provides. This new book provides a clear exposition of the new statutory framework, with an emphasis on practical matters. it describes a complicated and multi-faceted Act in a simple and straightforward way.The Guide takes the Act as its framework, but includes some general background material and details the more important subordinate material that is still to be finalised. Blackstone's Guide to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is essential reading for anyone with responsibility in thefinancial services marketplace, and for all those advising financial firms, including accountants, solicitors, barristers, compliance officers, auditors and actuaries. Equally, financial consumers and those advising them, whether in contentious or non-contentious matters, will find this book ofinestimable value in coming to grips with the new regime. The book contains a copy of the Act.