Follow Us

Follow us on Twitter  Follow us on LinkedIn
 
Home>
Print Page Save to My Library <Next Article  Previous Article>
11 November 2010

This week in "Brussels"
Jump directly to
Financial Services Policy Banking Securities
Insurance Asset Management Corporate Governance/Accounting
International Edited Minutes of Key Legislative Bodies Brief Opinions/Commentaries
Financial Stability - Policy Analysis Best of Media About this email

Articles from 04 November 2010 - 11 November 2010

Financial Services Policy

Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy: Taking global action for balanced growth at the G20 summit in Seoul
They call on the G20 to "recognise that economic imbalances are a common concern.” They propose using current account imbalances as an indicator to trigger an assessment of the possible root causes of impediments to adjustments.  View Article
Almunia: The role of competition policy on financial stability
Commissioner Almunia stressed that the Commission still needs to ensure a proper exit strategy from the exceptional state aid régime of the last two years. It is essential to implement better regulation on the financial sector which will curb some of banks’ excesses.  View Article
Commissioner Rehn: Applying the Commission proposals on economic governance to Ireland
He highlighted that in the Irish case there is a need to remember that sovereign debt has not been at the origin of the crisis. Rather, private debt has become public debt and the financial sector has misallocated resources in the economy. He has no doubt that Ireland will overcome this crisis.  View Article
ECON committee: Juncker stressed that Parliament must help put economic governance back on the right track
Mr Juncker also criticised the decision taken by EU Member States to make sanctions more difficult to deploy than the Commission had foreseen in its earlier proposals.  View Article
IMF Board approves far-reaching governance reforms
The core of the reforms will be a doubling of IMF quotas that will produce a shift of 6 per cent of quota shares to the dynamic emerging market and developing countries.   View Article
CEA sets out European insurance industry views ahead of G20 Seoul Summit
The CEA calls on the leading governments, their regulators and their central banks to give due and proper consideration to the differentiated nature of insurance when deciding on any measures to address systemic risks.  View Article

Banking

EBF Chiefs all for safeguarding European competitivenes in the upcoming G20 debates.
The Board of the European Banking Federation has called on G20 leaders to weigh all aspects of the proposed regulatory reform agenda carefully at their Seoul summit, especially as the assessment of the full impact of all measures is yet to be carried out.  View Article
BIS: Central bankers analyse market structure developments in the clearing industry and the implications for financial stability
The report provides a broad overview of the clearing industry in CPSS countries, covering both traditional markets and OTC derivatives markets.   View Article
IMF publication claims LCFIs need effective cross-border supervision if Basel III is to work for increased financial stability
IMF publication says large complex financial institutions can escape the effect of Basel III reforms by moving to less regulated jurisdictions or by increasing participation in non-regulated activities. More synchronised cross-border supervision is needed to prevent systemic risk shifting.  View Article
Commission extends investigation into WestLB's bank
The Commission has doubts about the viability of the bank. The bank's adjusted profit and loss projections show that the business model still relies on comparatively volatile and risky activities which does not provide the room for manoeuvre necessary for such unstable business.   View Article
Commission approves aid for restructuring of Spanish savings bank CajaSur and the sale of its banking activities
The Commission considers that the restructuring plan adequately addresses the problems that led to the bail-out of the bank in May 2010, whilst avoiding undue distortions of competition.  View Article

Securities

European Commission consults on further policy in the field of credit rating agencies
The purpose of this consultation is to open a wider debate and get input from all stakeholders in order to calibrate the scope and ambition of any possible future legislative initiative in the field of credit rating agencies.  View Article
Commission launches consultation on securities law
Currently, EU Member State laws on the holding and disposition of securities (such as stocks, bonds, options, futures etc.) differ considerably. This fragmentation could lead to legal uncertainty in cross-border situations.  View Article
ECON committee: First exchange of views on short selling and CDS
Rapporteur Pascal Canfin (FR/Greens) highlighted that he wants to follow a tight timetable, arguing that the regulation needs to be implemented quickly. He openly advocated a ban on “naked short selling” as well as on “uncovered” CDS and “uncovered” sovereign CDS.   View Article
ECON committee adopts own initiative report on dark pools
MEPs backed a resolution calling for more transparency and rules in "dark pool" and "high frequency" share trading in their continued bid to move more trading volumes to venues which allow better oversight.   View Article
IOSCO Task Force reports to G20 on commodity futures markets
This report describes the progress that has been made by the Task Force since its June 2010 Report to the G20 and our plans going forwards.  View Article
Comment paper on EC proposal for Regulation on OTC derivatives, CCPs and trade repositories
The main focus of the comments is to make CCPs sufficiently resilient. The proposal is ambitious, but leading market participants who offer liquidity in this business (without which hedgers could not hedge) support CCP use for eligible contracts on prudential and economic grounds.  View Article
FESE members deliver on their commitments to facilitate Equity Market Data Consolidation
In July 2010, FESE members committed to a number of steps in order to contribute further to an efficient consolidation of equity market data. The purpose of this report is to give a progress update and further details on the on-going work of FESE members to market participants and policy-makers.  View Article
ICE Clear Europe announces acceptance of gold bullion collateral and adds triparty collateral management service to enhance security
Acceptable collateral for ICE Clear Europe currently includes cash and government securities. Gold bullion will be permitted for initial margin only and will be accepted by the clearing house by electronic transfer in increments of 1 troy ounce.  View Article
FED hosted a meeting of the OTC Derivatives Regulators’ Forum
The ODRF includes central banks, banking supervisors, market regulators, standard setters and other governmental authorities that have direct authority over OTC derivatives market infrastructure providers or major OTC derivatives market participants.  View Article
SEC extends new short sale rule compliance date
The new short sale rule will restrict the prices at which a stock can be sold short if the stock's price drops 10 percent or more in one day.  View Article
ISDA publishes research note on concentration of OTC Derivatives among Major Dealers
According to the ISDA Market Survey for Mid-Year 2010, the largest U.S.-based derivatives dealers account for 37 per cent of the global total notional amount outstanding of derivatives.  View Article
SEC approves new rules prohibiting market maker stub quotes
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules proposed by the exchanges and FINRA to strengthen the minimum quoting standards for market makers and effectively prohibit "stub quotes" in the U.S. equity markets.  View Article
ISDA: Interest rate swap prices extremely competitive and transparent
ISDA released the results of a blind test independently conducted among market participants on the liquidity, price transparency and competitiveness of the “plain vanilla” US Dollar and Euro interest rate swap markets.  View Article
Canadian Securities Administrators publish a Consultation paper on Over‐the‐Counter Derivatives regulation in Canada
This public consultation paper addresses some of the deficiencies that have become apparent in the OTC derivatives market, and outlines the Committee’s high level proposals regarding the regulation of OTC derivatives.   View Article
Eight Canadian securities regulators sign Regulatory Cooperation Arrangement with China’s insurance regulator
The securities regulators of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan entered into the arrangement to strengthen the level of regulatory cooperation with Chinese regulators in order to increase mutual understanding and information exchange.  View Article

Insurance

CEIOPS published its advice to the European Commission on the revision of the Insurance Mediation Directive
CEIOPS technical advice covers, amongst other things, legal framework of the Directive, its scope, the international dimension of insurance intermediation and the professional requirements.  View Article
CEIOPS published the findings of its 2010 survey on the functioning of Colleges of supervisors
According to the survey the main strengths of the work of the College are cooperation and contact between authorities, comprehensive view of the group and high-quality discussions between the authorities.   View Article
FT: Learning the lessons of AIG’s fall
The Financial Times reports that the US company’s traditional insurance businesses had nothing to do with its failure. It was an unregulated London-based credit derivatives business that brought down AIG.  View Article

Asset Management

EP Background note on the alternative investment fund managers directive
This note answers some basic questions about what is to be regulated and why. It also also compares the EU institutions' starting positions, and shows the final outcomes on the most controversial issues.   View Article

Corporate Governance/Accounting

IAASB report on implementation of the clarified International Standards on Auditing
The IAASB published a progress report on its project to monitor the implementation of its clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). To promote awareness and understanding of the clarified ISAs, the IAASB has also released a second series of ISA modules.  View Article
Trustees publish consultation document on the future strategy of the IFRS Foundation
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation published a first-stage consultation document designed to solicit input on the strategy of the IFRS Foundation as it enters its second decade. The Trustees initiated this review as a result of the second Constitution Review that was completed earlier this year.  View Article
IFAC position paper 'A Public Interest Framework for the Accountancy Profession' for public exposure
IFAC has released an exposure draft entitled 'A Public Interest Framework for the Accountancy Profession' and has developed a principles-based framework of the public interest which can be applied to standard-setting, governance processes, policy analysis and regulatory issues.  View Article
EFRAG comments on the IASB's ED Deferred Tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets
EFRAG has issued its comment letter on the IASB Exposure Draft on Deferred Tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets.  View Article
EFRAG comments on IASB staff draft IFRS Fair Value Measurement
EFRAG submitted a letter to the IASB in relation to the staff draft of the forthcoming IFRS on Fair Value Measurement.  View Article
CASB and IAASB issue joint statement regarding convergence of international standards
The CASB and the IAASB discussed convergence of international standards. In accordance with the principle of continuous and comprehensive convergence, the CASB has completed the revision of Chinese Standards of Audit (CSAs), and achieved full convergence with the clarified ISAs.  View Article
IFAC comments on Monitoring Group report
IFAC commented on the Monitoring Group’s Review of the IFAC reforms — Final report. IFAC welcomed the publication of this report and appreciated the collaborative manner in which the Monitoring Group has undertaken the review, as well as their recommendations.  View Article

International

Extinction or evolution - the future for offshore centres
During a lecture at Gresham College, Treasury Minister of the Isle of Man, Anne Craine, explored what the future holds for offshore centres, how they can survive, how they need to adapt and why they serve a valid, even useful role in international finance.  View Article

Brief Opinions/Commentaries

Paul Goldschmidt: European Integration, hopeful signs?
Goldschmidt argues that if the economic and financial crisis creates – by necessity or conviction but preferably by both – an opportunity to impulse an acceleration of European integration, then the unavoidable sacrifices that still lie ahead will appear more acceptable.   View Article
Think tank 20: Global perspectives on the Seoul G20 summit
This publication highlights a collection of people active in think tanks and universities in G20 countries actively working on G20 related issues, together with their short think pieces at the occasion of the Seoul 2010 summit.  View Article

Financial Stability - Policy Analysis

SUERF publishes policy analysis "The quest for stability: the financial stability view"
The European Money and Finance Forum publishes its 4th quarter SUERF study on financial stability and generates policy recommendations that have implications for prudential supervision, systemic risk, European financial system and assistance to financial institutions in distress.  View Article

Best of Media

Financial News: G20 faces uphill battle on global reform
The G20 faces an impossible task in trying to coordinate a framework for financial oversight that can span every member state, according to senior bankers, regulators and policymakers, with national agendas instead likely to come to the fore.  View Article
Il Sole: Fewer defaults – European securitisations better than American
The world of European securitisations can take a breath of relief. In the course of the worst crisis in the history of the finances, the defaults of asset-backed securities was equal to 16 billion euro out of 1,868 billion in circulation.  View Article
Corriere: Draghi warns of alarming situation and claims the need to stabilise the country
Governor of Banca d'Italia claims Italy is “on the crossroads” between stagnation and growth. Uncertainties in the productivity are key, impacting mostly young people because the social mobility in Italy is one of the lowest in Europe.  View Article
NY Times: Once on sleepy beat, regulator is suddenly busy
At a time when prices of many commodities are soaring — cotton has jumped 95 per cent in the last 12 months, silver 43 per cent — alarms are going off inside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington.  View Article
Il Sole: China against the ultra expansive policy of Fed
There are different motives: the new liquidity injected to the markets, together with the zero interest rates in the US will push the dollar down and create problems with exports in many countries, particularly in Far East.  View Article




© Graham Bishop

< Next Previous >
Key
 Hover over the blue highlighted text to view the acronym meaning
Hover over these icons for more information


Add new comment





 


www.grahambishop.com
// Business Applications by Denaploy 		Web Master Information
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy