Commissioner Barnier has written to Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, to assure him that new rules for the hedge fund and private equity industries will not shut foreign funds out of EU financial markets.
Michel Barnier, the European Union’s internal market commissioner, has written to Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, to assure him that new rules for the hedge fund and private equity industries will not shut foreign funds out of EU financial markets.
“I am convinced that access to the European single market should be granted to managers and funds domiciled in third countries, including the US, provided that high-level standards of transparency and security are guaranteed,” Mr Barnier wrote in a letter sent last week and seen by the Financial Times.
The US Treasury has pleaded with the Brussels executive not to discriminate against American investors, as both sides work towards enacting rules governing hedge funds as part of a global regulatory drive agreed by the Group of 20 leading industrialised and developing nations.
Mr Geithner wrote to Mr Barnier last month, and reiterated his concerns in a follow-up letter to the finance ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Spain this week.
“Our regime will treat all advisers and funds operating in the US equally, regardless of their origin – domestic or non-US,” he wrote.
“I hope you will keep in mind our shared commitment to create regulatory reform that does not discriminate against foreign firms.”
EU discussions on this directive are continuing, but many member states are pushing for regulations that would give each country some leeway on how to treat foreign-based funds.
The US wants to ensure that its investors benefit from the same flexibility European-based funds enjoy under the EU’s single-market rules.
© Financial Times
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article