After the fall of socialism, the former socialist countries "jumped" into economic freedom without particular safeguards in the area of banking and financial services. This resulted in several banking crisis in the 1990s provoking huge financial losses for citizens of the newly established democracies, thereby greatly undermining trust in the market economy. Regulation and consumer protection in financial services became a high priority on the political agenda. Countries on their way to membership in the EU like Poland, Hungary and the Baltic countries more or less voluntarily took over the "acquis communautaire". Russia, particularly after the 1998 crash, intensified state control and regulation over the banking industry, tried to stop outflow of capital and improve consumer protection through mandatory rules in the new Civil Code and special legislation on investment services.

The course will give an overview of the present state of regulation by making use of the comprehensive study: "Financial Services Regulation in Europe", Oxford University Press 2006. It will then take up certain issues of financial services in new EU Member countries with a particular emphasis on consumer and investor protection. There will always be a reference to relevant EU regulations and directives, including the recent Dir. 2008/48 on consumer credit. Russia is a special case because of its position outside the EU and its still limited liberalisation. Therefore, the relevant provisions of the Russian Civil Code (which will be made available in an English translation) must be studied as well as specific rules on securities by the Federal Securities Commission, including self-regulation by the so-called NAUFOR rules.