An inquiry into the meaning of possession and control over financial assets and the effects on third parties

Following the implementation in the UK of the Directive on financial collateral arrangements 2002/47/EC, it is extremely difficult – if not simply impossible – to confine certain concepts of law (mainly those of possession and control) within sharp and definitive boundaries. Nowadays, the main perception is that there can be different forms of control as well as different forms of possession (depending on the type of asset involved and/or the terms and conditions posed by the parties to the security agreement). The article suggests that this ‘flexibility’ is by no means surprising as it reflects the tradition, ingrained in English law to continuously stretch the notion of property to accommodate market needs.