Graham Bishop.com

Mervyn King: Banks putting profits before customers
In a Daily Telegraph interview, Mervyn King questioned the bonus system and warned that failure to reform the sector could result in another financial crisis. View Article

BBA: EU proposals a welcome first step towards making too-big-to-fail a thing of the past
European proposals to reduce the probability of financial crises and to manage them if they occur should help level the regulatory playing field with the UK. View Article

ECON committee: MEPs crack down on sovereign debt speculation and naked short selling
A ban on certain trades in sovereign bonds, together with the requirement that traders settle their uncovered positions by the end of each trading day, were two key outcomes of ECON committee’s vote on a draft EU regulation on short selling and credit default swaps. View Article

AFME warns against European Parliament’s decision to curb short selling of sovereign CDS
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe claims that European Parliament’s decision to restrict short selling of sovereign credit default swaps significantly increases the borrowing costs for both sovereigns and companies, causing real damage to the economy. View Article

EDHEC Risk Institute warns the European Parliament of the dangers of banning naked sales of CDS
Besides the fact that the lack of convergence on these issues with the US authorities leaves little hope of the measures being effective, EDHEC-Risk Institute thinks that this ban would run up against legal and practical obstacles that would make it inapplicable or even counterproductive. View Article

AIMA warns of economic impact of EU naked CDS ban
EU policy-makers should consider the economic impact of potential restrictions on credit default swaps in sovereign debt. That’s according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association. View Article

AFME response to the consultation on CSDs and on the harmonisation of certain aspects of Securities Settlement
AFME believes that legislative means to require market participants to carry out certain specific pre-settlement processes are very largely inappropriate. Many market participants, namely those located outside the European Union, will not fall under the obligations set out in legislation. View Article

ESMA publishes the responses received to the request for technical advice concerning the Prospectus Directive
On 25 January 2011, the European Commission published its request to ESMA for advice on possible delegated acts concerning the Prospectus Directive (2003/71/EC) as amended by Directive 2010/73/EU. ESMA has been asked to deliver certain parts of the requested advice by 30 September 2011. View Article

IOSCO survey results on implementation of securitisation recommendations
The report shows that all jurisdictions surveyed by the Task Force had at least one, if not multiple, initiatives in progress to implement the recommendations on: disclosure; the retention of economic interest; investor suitability and international coordination; and regulatory cooperation. View Article

EIOPA to establish new stakeholder groups
EIOPA received around 100 applications from high level experts for each stakeholder group after a public invitation for interested candidates to apply for membership. Those eligible for membership were qualified individuals selected on the basis of their expertise in the area of financial services. View Article

Eurofinas: Differentiated regulatory treatments required for insurance intermediaries
Eurofinas believes that the distribution of products providing basic insurance coverage that are easy to understand and of relatively low premiums should be subject to a lighter statutory regime. View Article

IOSCO launches consultation on suspension of CIS redemptions
The report analyses how different jurisdictions’ regulatory regimes address the suspension of redemptions by open-ended collective investment schemes (CIS) and proposes principles which provide general standards for how regulatory regimes should approach and oversee suspension of redemptions. View Article

IMA: No single right answer to default fund design
Responding to the Department for Work and Pensions’ consultation, ‘Offering a default option for defined contribution automatic enrolment pension schemes', the Investment Management Association says there is no single right answer to what makes a good default fund strategy. View Article

IPE: PGGM & EFRP represented in EIOPA's stakeholder group
Chris Verhaegen said it was a matter of great responsibility to be chosen as a member of both the OPSG and the Insurance and Reinsurance Stakeholder group, where she will represent the interests of reinsurance users. View Article

Accountancy profession urges IFAC to increase role in different areas
The International Federation of Accountants has established the key areas of focus for leaders in the accountancy profession. According to results of the 2010 IFAC Global Leadership Survey of the Accounting Profession, the key areas are transitioning to ISAs, sustainability, ethics and SMPs. View Article

EFRAG letter to IASB and FASB about financial instruments
EFRAG recommends that the IASB and the FASB agree on a joint timetable to finalise a converged accounting standard for financial instruments. View Article

FAF: Live video web casting of FASB education meetings
The FAF informed that it will begin live video web casting of all education sessions hosted by the FASB. View Article

FAF’s next step in accounting standard-setting for non-public entities
The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation announced the formation of a Trustee Working Group to address the important topic of accounting standard-setting for non-public entities. View Article

IASB: Conclusions of the February 2011 Trustees’ meeting
The February 2011 Trustees' meeting was held on 10 and 11 February in Tokyo, Japan. The next meetings of the Trustees will be in London on 30-31 March 2011, in New York on 13-14 July 2011, and in Paris on 12-13 October 2011. View Article

FSA and FRC: Feedback statement on the role of auditors
The FSA and FRC published a feedback statement summarising the responses to the joint discussion paper on enhancing the auditor’s contribution to prudential regulation. View Article

APB summarised comments on auditor scepticism
The Auditing Practices Board of the FRC published a Feedback Paper that summarises the comments received in response to its Discussion Paper 'Auditor Scepticism: Raising the Bar', and outlines the action that the APB, and other parts of the FRC, intend to take. View Article

Correction Notice: APB Ethical Standards
The Auditing Practices Board of the FRC corrected typographical errors in two of the Ethical Standards for Auditors which were published on the website on 17th December 2010. Paragraph 96 of ES 5 (Revised) and paragraph 25 of ES – PASE (Revised) have now been corrected. View Article

IFAC report: 'Integrating the Business Reporting Supply Chain'
Summarised in the IFAC report are the recommendations of key business leaders. According to interviewees, developing a new form of reporting that integrates an organisation’s social and environmental performance with its economic performance in a simplified manner would benefit all stakeholders. View Article

FRC’s Panel of Inquiry deals with going concern and liquidity risks
The FRC announced the launch of an inquiry to identify lessons for companies and auditors addressing going concern and liquidity risks. The Inquiry will draw on the experience of companies and auditors who have had to address these issues in times of difficulty, including during the credit crisis. View Article

Commissioner Šemeta: A financial transactions tax at global level is needed
Commissioner Šemeta firmly believes that it is too premature to commit on a financial transactions tax at EU-level only. View Article

Plenary session: Own initiative report on innovative financing approved
The EU should impose a financial transaction tax, even if it is alone in doing so, and clamp down on tax evasion and tax fraud, to boost revenue and efficiency in both the EU and developing countries, says Parliament. View Article

Olli Rehn: Economic Governance needs one strong model, not many parallel ones
A functioning EU economic union can be guaranteed only by the package of rules currently before Parliament, and not by competing intergovernmental models, Olli Rehn said. Mr Rehn also warned against complacency about reducing debt, stressing that short-term fire-fighting remains necessary. View Article

Constitutional Affairs committee: Eurozone stability mechanism should be part of the EU
A limited EU Treaty change to allow a permanent bailout fund for the eurozone was backed by Constitutional Affairs committee. However, MEPs were "deeply concerned" that the mechanism is an intergovernmental choice, rather than an EU one, and urged Member States to bring it within the EU system. View Article

Banking	Securities	Insurance
Asset Management	Corporate Governance/Accounting	Financial Services Policy
Economic Crisis	European Council/Parliament	About this email

This week in "Brussels"

10 March 2011

© Graham Bishop