Ian Mason is a Legal Director in the Financial Services and Regulatory team of DLA Piper LLP and a former Head of Department in the Enforcement Division of the FSA. On a regular basis, Ian shares his thoughts with Practical Law Financial Services subscribers on topical developments in the area of market conduct.

In his column for December 2016, Ian assesses UK implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation 596/2014) (MAR): after almost six months, what are the problem areas, and has any further clarification or guidance been provided? Ian also briefly considers the approach to market conduct that the FCA has indicated it will take in 2017.