18 October 2007
IASB warns Europe on accounting standards
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Europe should not develop its own version of accounting standards or it will risk torpedoing the global effort to produce a single standard, said the head supervisor of the international accounting standards setter. The warning came from Gerrit Zalm, the new chairman of the trustees of the IASB, and could put the board on a collision course with European policymakers, who have defended their right to alter standards where they see fit.
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18 October 2007
IASB: Gerrit Zalm appointed Chairman of Trustees
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The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation announced that Gerrit Zalm has accepted the Trustees’ invitation to become the next Chairman of the Trustees. The Trustees are the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Mr Zalm’s three-year term will begin on 1 January 2008.
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17 October 2007
FSA approves Deutsche Börse MiFID trade reporting service
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| Deutsche Börse has been granted "Trade Data Monitor" (TDM) status by the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) for its MiFID OTC post-trade transparency service. The service enables investment firms to meet post-trade transparency requirements for off-exchange equity transactions under the MiFID Directive which launches in November. |
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17 October 2007
Commission infringement procedures against 22 Member States
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| The Commission decided to pursue infringement procedures against 22 Member States for failure to implement certain Internal Market Directives in national law. The Commission will formally request the Czech Republic, Italy and Sweden to implement a company law Directive, and Belgium to implement the Capital Requirements Directive. |
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17 October 2007
BaFin quarterly October 2007
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| BaFin released its latest Quarterly newsletter which covers the cooperation of European financial supervisors across sector boundaries. Topics also include the US subprime market crises, and the Germany Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which was introduced at the beginning of this year. |
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17 October 2007
G7 Finance Ministers to discuss recent financial turmoil
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| The G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, the IMF and the World Bank will meet in Washington on Friday to discuss recent financial market turmoil. Secretary Paulson has asked the FSF to form a working group to look at the underlying causes of the turbulence. A final report of the FSF is expected in April 2008. |
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17 October 2007
Commission requests France to remove obstacles to audit firms
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| The Commission requested France to amend its national independence rules relating to international networks of audit firms. The Commission considers that Articles 24 and 29 of the 2005 French Code of Ethics for auditors unduly restrict the freedom to provide services as guaranteed by Article 49 of the Treaty. |
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16 October 2007
Carlo Comporti elected as CESR’s next Secretary General
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| CESR elected Mr Carlo Comporti as the new Secretary General. Mr Comporti will start his new position on 1 January 2008. He will succeed Fabrice Demarigny who indicated that he did not wish to apply for a third mandate. |
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16 October 2007
CESR consultation on key investor information for UCITS
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CESR published a consultation paper on the content and form of Key Investor Information disclosures for UCITS. CESR makes specific recommendations on a number of points, while in some areas proposes alternative options where testing on retail investors is required to understand better how retail investors react to particular approaches. CESR will deliver its advice until February 2008. Deadline for responses is 17 December 2007.
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16 October 2007
Secretary Paulson remarks on Mortgage Market Developments
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| US Treasury Secretary Paulson reviewed the current state of the housing and mortgage markets and outlined the implications for the capital markets and the economy. “The ongoing housing correction is not ending as quickly as it might have appeared late last year”, he said. “And it now looks like it will continue to adversely impact our economy, our capital markets, and many homeowners for some time yet”. |
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15 October 2007
CEBS adopts peer review mechanism
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| CEBS has published the Protocol and Methodology for a peer review mechanism. The Review Panel is being set up and is mandated to assess the degree of convergence reached by CEBS members in the implementation of a given supervisory provision or practice. |
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15 October 2007
Summary of results on Private Placement Regime
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| The Commission published a summary of responses received to the call for evidence regarding the functioning in EU Member States of private placement regimes. Problems are particularly acute for non-harmonised open-ended investment funds which do not benefit from 'passporting opportunities' provided by the Prospectus Directive to securities and closed-end funds, the sumary shows. |
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15 October 2007
Hitchen adds voice to Solvency II criticism
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| Chris Hitchen, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), has become the latest critic of the Solvency II regime. Applying it to pension funds would amount to “killing the goose”, he said. Adding to earlier criticism from pension professionals towards applying the framework to pension funds, Hitchen argued funds would be exposed to much higher funding levels than necessary under Solvency II. |
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15 October 2007
Commission recommendation on financial information on listed companies
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| The Commission published a recommendation that aims to create an electronic network interconnecting the national repositories which store financial information on listed companies. CESR has been invited to reflect, by September 2010, on the future development of this pan-European network. |
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15 October 2007
IIMG final report on Lamfalussy process
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| The Inter-Institutional Monitoring Group published its third and final report on the "Lamfalussy process". The Group provides a general assessment of the Lamfalussy framework, an evaluation of its ability to deliver results and proposes concrete recommendations for improving the overall process. The report focuses on the functioning of the Level 3 Committees and identifies the areas where more progress is necessary. |
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12 October 2007
EFAMA comments on Parliament report on Asset Management
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| EFAMA commented on the European Parliaments’ draft report on asset management calling that the upcoming Commission’s proposal must not be overloaded. EFAMA is strictly opposed to any opening of discussion on eligible assets as mentioned under Article 19(1). Their inclusion might significantly complicate the discussion at Council and Parliament level, EFAMA warned. |
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12 October 2007
ABA: Funds need flexibility to compete with Belgium
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| Regulations relating to the underfunding of Pensionsfonds are 'too strict' for the retirement vehicles to be competitive in the European market, German insurance experts and pension fund associations have suggested. Pensionsfonds should be competitive in the European market," Klaus Stiefermann, managing director of German occupational pensions lobby aba, said. Regulation should be similar to frameworks existing in other European countries, he explained. |
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12 October 2007
BIS consultation on guidelines for default risk
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The BIS issued a paper for consultation on guidelines for computing capital for incremental default risk in the trading book. The paper provides additional guidance on how the general principles may be met and contains both guidance on how supervisors will evaluate internal models and fallback options deemed acceptable by the Committee. Deadline for consultation is 15 February 2008.
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12 October 2007
Italy gains pension reforms approval
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| The Italian government has announced it will insert a welfare package, which includes pensions reforms, into the 2008 budget measures. Cabinet ministers met to discuss draft legislation after workers and pensioners overwhelmingly supported the reforms in a referendum earlier this week. According to the latest agreement, the minimum retirement age becomes 58 years in 2008 instead of 57 years now. |
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11 October 2007
US Treasury consults on review of Regulatory Structure
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| The US Treasury released a request for public input as it prepares a blueprint for an improved U.S. financial regulatory structure. The blueprint is set for release early next 2008. The review of the financial regulatory structure will focus on all types of financial institutions. Deadline for comments is 21 November 2007. |
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Forthcoming
26 October 2007
CEBS Hearing on Supervisory Reporting
CEBS will hold a public hearing on future developments on supervisory reporting 26 October 2007 in London. CEBS is working currently on a report assessing the level of convergence in supervisory reporting achieved by CEBS with the introduction of the CEBS Guidelines on Reporting.
19 November 2007
JURI Public Hearing on the implementation of the Takeover Bids Directive
20 November 2007
CEIOPS third Conference in Frankfurt am Main
The main topics for discussion will be covered in three Panel sessions and will relate to the assessment of CEIOPS’ role as a Level 3 Committee in the Lamfalussy process, the progress of the Solvency II Project – including QIS 3 and lessons to be learned from the results -, and the implementation of the Pension Funds’ supervisory regime.
3-4 December 2007
EUROFI Financial Services Conference
The 2007 EUROFI conference will be held at the European Parliament. Topics of the agenda include: Regulation and Supervision in the light of the present global financial crisis, trading and Post-trading issues as well as UCITS, SEPA, and Solvency II.
18 December 2007
ECON Public Hearing on Solvency II
23 November 2007
CESR Hearing on key investor information for UCITS
CESR will hold an Open Hearing following the consultation on key investor information for UCITS on Friday 23 November in Paris.
© Graham Bishop
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