The surge in developments within the EU seems to have abated but our Weekly E-mail gives a brief summary of events that run far beyond "Brussels" as we include events in other countries such as the United States that are likely to influence legislative action at the EU level. Many of our events this week are outside the EU - reflecting the globalisation of finance.
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ECOFIN meeting
04 March 2008
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Finance Ministers focused primarily on preparations for the spring European Council on 13 and 14 March and the current situation on the financial markets. Issues of financial stability are among ECOFIN’s priorities in future months”, Andrej Bajuk, ECOFIN President, stressed. View
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McCreevy calls for timely adoption of Solvency II
06 March 2008
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The solvency reform is long overdue, Commissioner McCreevy said at the CEA Conference in Brussels. “If we make substantial amendments to the Proposal, we will lose some of the expected benefits of the measures.” View
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MEP Wolf Klinz: Risks and opportunities - examining sovereign wealth funds
06 March 2008
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The rise of sovereign wealth funds should not be met by protectionism but should be seen as proof of the good functioning of the free movement of capital across borders, Wolf Klinz, MEP said. "If there is any limit to foreign investment, this should be restricted to only key strategic sectors. View
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FSA consultation on sponsor regime for listed companies
06 March 2008
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The FSA published a consultation paper on amendments to the sponsor regime for listed companies. The final Handbook text is likely to be published in quarter three 2008. View
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FT: Banks warn chancellor against rushing reform
06 March 2008
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Banks have warned Alistair Darling of “unintended consequences” from rushing through proposed new banking laws and urged the chancellor to take more time to examine the far-reaching rules. View
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Speech McCreevy: Aspects of the Financial Turmoil
05 March 2008
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Six months since this turmoil started we still don't know how big the losses are, Commissioner McCreevy said. He questioned whether Europe would be ‘well positioned to deal with the default of a bank which had operations and depositors in several Member States’. View
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SEC proposes to streamline ETF approval process
05 March 2008
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The SEC voted unanimously to propose two new rules under the Investment Company Act to permit exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to operate without the need to obtain individual exemptive orders from the Commission. View
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ICMA and NSMA sign Memorandum of Co-operation
05 March 2008
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ICMA and the Russian National Securities Market Association (NSMA) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Co-operation to further expand their joint activities related to development of the Russian financial market in line with international best market practice. View
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Japan Times: Sovereign funds rescue West
05 March 2008
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The wealth that once flowed from Europe and America to the Eastern world has dried up and vast new funds from cash-rich Asia and from the oil-producing Mideast, awash with dollars from oil sales, are cascading the opposite way. View
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FT Insight: Financial system faces commodity-led crisis
05 March 2008
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The global economy is facing twin shocks. The financial markets require a re-capitalisation of the banking system, with estimates ranging from $300bn to $1,000bn. By contrast, prospective capital requirements in the resource markets dwarf the current needs of the banking system. View
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McCormick: Progress on code of best practices for sovereign wealth funds
05 March 2008
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Progress is being made in developing a code of best practices for sovereign wealth funds, David McCormick said in a testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services. “Attention to sovereign wealth funds is inevitable given that their rise clearly has implications for the international financial system”, he said. View
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CNN: Government: U.S. needs foreign cash
05 March 2008
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Federal regulators stressed the importance of leaving the United States open to investments by sovereign wealth funds, but warned of the need to push for better transparency among these growing state-sponsored entities. View
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Telegraph: Alistair Darling plans mortgage kitemark
05 March 2008
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Alistair Darling will attempt to kickstart the wholesale markets by kite-marking the best mortgage loans. The Treasury is drawing up plans to grade mortgages so that high street lenders can sell them on to investors in the money markets. View
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FT: EU makes cross-border banking key priority
04 March 2008
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More effective cross-border banking supervision is a "key priority" for European Union policymakers as they battle to restore confidence in financial markets, according to officials. "We are trying to put in place strengthened cross-border banking supervision. View
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CNN: US Senate banking committee chair blasts regulators for not sounding warning about risky lending practices
04 March 2008
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Lawmakers grilled bank regulators about why they didn't intervene as lax lending standards led to a meltdown in the mortgage market and a credit crunch that threaten the economy. View
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Bernanke calls for additional relief to reduce preventable foreclosures
04 March 2008
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called for additional relief and urged lenders to help distressed owners by lowering the amount of their loans. Bernanke called for active measures from both the public and private sectors to stabilize housing markets. View
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FSA Japan issues outline of bill for amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act
04 March 2008
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The Cabinet submitted the bill for amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. View
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FED Vice Chairman Kohn: Banks face challenging market conditions
04 March 2008
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The U.S. banking system is facing some challenges, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Kohn said. “Clearly some banking organizations have failed to manage their exposures well and have suffered losses as a result.” View
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FT: China Life seeks access to private equity
04 March 2008
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China’s biggest insurer, China Life, wants the government to allow insurance companies to invest in the country’s fledgling domestic private equity sector. View
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IMF intensifies work on sovereign wealth funds
04 March 2008
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With sovereign wealth funds rapidly gaining importance in the international monetary and financial system, the IMF has stepped up its work across a broad range of issues related to these state-owned funds, including their impact on global financial stability and capital flows. View
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MLex: MasterCard files card fee appeal, EC publishes decision
03 March 2008
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MasterCard has lodged an appeal against the European Commission's decision in December last year forcing it to redraw its 'interchange fee' on payment card transactions by the end of June. View
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BIS Quarterly Review March 2008
03 March 2008
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The BIS Quarterly Review presents an overview of recent developments in financial markets. The review also contains five special feature articles, all related to the recent financial turmoil. View
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ISDA comments to CESR and Commission on UCITS to enter into CDS
03 March 2008
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ISDA published its comments to CESR and Commission regarding ability of UCITS funds to enter into credit default swaps following implementation of Eligible Assets Directive. ISDA is concerned as to whether some provisions of the Eligible Assets Directive should be read as preventing UCITS from investing in market standard CDS. View
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Treasury Committee report warns about possible regulation of complex financial products
03 March 2008
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The UK Treasury Committee report concludes that detailed regulation of products is one response to the problem of product complexity. “If the market and, in particular, the investment banks prove unable to address the problem of overly complex products, then regulation will need to be seriously examined in the future”, the report concludes. View
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FED Govenor Kroszner criticizes role of banks financial turmoil
03 March 2008
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Banks have not fully considered the potential funding-liquidity problems that complex structured investment vehicles could face if there were sudden market moves or if perceptions of credit risk changed, Federal Reserve Governor Kroszner said. View
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FESE response to PCAOB proposal on inspections of foreign registered public accounting firms
03 March 2008
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FESE strongly welcomes the PCAOB proposal on inspections of foreign registered public accounting firms that would give the PCAOB Board the possibility of placing full reliance on the inspections programs of qualified non-U.S. auditor oversight entities. View
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AMF: New regulations on the equivalence of third country legislation
03 March 2008
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The AMF published the new regulations on the equivalence of third country legislation. Under the new regulations, the AMF can grant recognition to the legislation of a state that is not party to the European Economic Area agreement as being equivalent to the French legislation enacted to implement the Transparency Directive. View
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FSA publishes new rules on telephone recording
03 March 2008
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The FSA published new rules requiring firms to record telephone conversations and other electronic communications to help deter and detect market abuse in the UK. View
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FT: Barroso warns on protectionist pressures
02 March 2008
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Protectionist pressures are increasing across Europe, even among political forces traditionally committed to free markets, according to José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president. Mr Barroso also explicitly ruled out creating a single pan-European regulator in response to the turmoil that has plagued financial markets since August. View
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Economic Times: Deutsche Bank CEO suggests finance watchdog
01 March 2008
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A group of global experts monitoring the stability of financial markets might prevent a repeat of the US subprime crisis, Josef Ackermann, the Chief Executive of Deutsche Bank said on Saturday. "I suggest thinking about an entirely new watchdog," he said. View
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Single Market News 49
28 February 2008
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The Commission published its new edition of 'Single Market News'. Issues covered include the topics on the Single Euro Payments Area, the Commission White Paper for EU the mortgage market, and the adoption of 'equivalence mechanism'. View
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IPE: Performance vs transparency in ETFs
28 February 2008
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Performance and transparency are battling it out with each other as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) push for more European institutional money, experts debated today. View
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CESR summary on administrative measures on MAD
28 February 2008
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CESR issued an executive summary to the report on administrative measures and sanctions as well as the criminal sanctions available in Member States under the Market Abuse Directive. View
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3L3 joint letter on draft work programmes for 2008
28 February 2008
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The chairs of the 3L3 Committees sent a Joint Letter to the EU Institutions submitting their draft programmes for 2008 together with their provisional joint 3L3 cross sector work programme. The Committees identified six key areas, including home-host co-operation and consistency issues in the regulatory and supervisory treatment of competing products. View
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Forthcoming
10 March 2008
Conference on the European Private Company
The European Commission will organise a conference on the SPE in Brussels, ahead of a forthcoming proposal for a SPE. The Conference will address the SPE both from a practical and from a legal point of view. Expert panellists from several Member States will share their views of what should be the key aspects of the future SPE.
Conference Programme, registration form
26 March 2008
CESR consultation on the role of Credit Rating Agencies
CESR will hold a public hearing for interested market participants at CESR premises in Paris. CESR will welcome interested parties (other than CRAs) to attend the hearing.
Online registration
2 April 2008
CEIOPS consultation on Proportionality and Insurance Groups – Solvency II
CEIOPS will organise a Public Hearing on both Consultation Papers on Proportionality and Insurance Groups in Frankfurt am Main. The topics for discussion will be covered in 2 panel sessions and different presentations related to Insurance Groups and Proportionality. Registration is open until 17 March 2008.
Further information
8 April 2008
Commission hearing on non-harmonised retail funds/real estate funds
The Commission hearing will examine recent developments in European retail funds and assess possibilities for cross-border retail distribution of these products and devote particular attention to markets for European real estate funds.
Online registration form, programme
8 April 2008
Cass-Capco Institute Risk Conference
The conference draws together practitioners and academics to discuss how risk can be managed to lessen its impact on business and economic growth. It offers four panel discussions on the topics of "Reputational Risk", "Operational Risk", "Pricing of Risk", and "Challenges of Complex products".
More information, programme
16 April 2008
IBC Legal Conferences' EU and UK Financial Services Forum
The EU and UK Financial Services Forum will assess the key developments mid-way through implementation of the Commissions White Paper on Financial Services. Sir Christopher Bellamy QC from Linklaters LLP in London is chairing the event. Joining him is a panel of experts from the Commission, banks, the Office of Fair Trading, the London Stock Exchange and leading law firms.
More information and booking
June 2008
Commission Public Hearing on "substitute" retail investment products
© Graham Bishop
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