Dealing on own account by executing client orders should include firms executing orders from different clients by matching them on a matched principal basis (back-to-back trading), which should be regarded as acting as principals and should be subject to the provisions of this Directive covering both the execution of orders on behalf of clients and dealing on own account.

A considerable portion of the foreign exchange market is comprised of dealers redistributing order imbalances between themselves.

However, the mere fact that market makers or bodies authorised to act as counterparties confine themselves to pursuing their legitimate business of buying and selling financial instruments, or that persons authorised to execute orders on behalf of third parties confine themselves to carrying out an order dutifully, should not in itself be deemed to constitute a misuse of information.

(e)‘intermediary activities’ means any activity to arrange purchase and sale or supply of scheduled substances carried out by any natural or legal person who aims to obtain agreement between two parties or to do so through acting on behalf of at least one of these parties without taking these substances into its possession or taking control of the carrying out of such transaction; this definition shall also include any activity carried out by any natural or legal person established in the ►M1 Union ◄ involving purchase and sale or supply of scheduled substances without these substances being introduced into the ►M1 customs territory of ...[+++]the Union ◄

5) "Execution of orders on behalf of clients" means acting to conclude agreements to buy or sell one or more financial instruments on behalf of clients, including situations where an investment firm enters into transactions solely for the purpose of matching transactions between clients, or where by virtue of the rules of the regulated market, a multilateral trading facility or comparable third country system on which it executes such client orders, it is regarded as acting as principal;

Moreover, the mere fact that market-makers, bodies authorised to act as counterparties, or persons authorised to execute orders on behalf of third parties with inside information confine themselves, in the first two cases, to pursuing their legitimate business of buying or selling financial instruments or, in the last case, to carrying out an order dutifully, should not in itself be deemed to constitute use of such inside information.