Graham Bishop.com

ECON committee chairwoman comments on new bank stress tests
The Plenary debate on stress tests of the EU banking sector in the European Parliament saw the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe calling for more transparency of the banking sector due to its close connection to the sovereign debt crisis. View Article

Bank stress tests: EPP Group wants more clarity on upcoming tests
MEPs Corien Wortmann-Kool and Jean-Paul Gauzès called for more clarity on the 2011 stress tests on the EU banking sector, and want guarantees from the European Commission to prevent a repetition of 2010, when the stress tests failed to restore confidence in the EU banking sector. View Article

ECB Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell: Transformation of the banking business and its impact on retail payments
She stressed that retail payments revenues cannot be taken for granted. They are under pressure from different directions: increasing competition, substantial investment needs to keep up with customer demands, and technological progress. View Article

ESBG published paper explaining a key amendment to the draft SEPA migration regulation
Although ESBG maintains its fundamental concern about ruling on interchange in a regulation, ESBG recognises that removing dispositions on interchange from the draft regulation text during the co-decision process at European Parliament and Council will probably not be possible. View Article

Basel Committee issued report on aligning remuneration with risk and performance
The report is intended to enhance banks' and supervisors' understanding of risk-adjusted remuneration. By providing clarification on the design of risk-adjusted remuneration schemes, the Committee aims to promote greater adoption of sound compensation practices in the banking sector. View Article

IIF proposes approaches to bail-in and resolution planning
The IIF published proposals for the resolution of financial services firms. The IIF also highlighted a set of “bail-in” actions with the potential to ensure that firms of all sizes can fail – with losses being absorbed by shareholders and creditors, and with no expectation of taxpayer bail-outs. View Article

FT: Basel III to hit money fund sector
Industry commentators believe the forthcoming Basel III regulations will encourage banks to lure retail investors out of money market funds and into deposit accounts in order to shore up their capital ratios. View Article

ACCA roundtable: 'Reflections on the Mortgage Directive: Specialised Credit Markets – Specialised Regulation'
The Responsible Lending and Borrowing Directive, commonly referred to as the Mortgage Directive, has been released by the European Commission and is now to be considered in the European Parliament and European Council. View Article

FSA: Strengthening Capital Standards 3 - further consultation on CRD3
This Consultation Paper is an update to CP09/291, which set out the FSA'sproposals for implementing changes to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) from the European Commission’s CRD2 and CRD3 packages of amendments. View Article

European Supervision of CRAs: MEP Jean-Paul Gauzès denounced delays in legislation's implementation
Gauzès stressed that while the main Pan-European agencies - prior to September 2010 and according to transitory measures - applied for registration by the competent national authority, none have been registered yet. View Article

Summary record of the 74th meeting of the European Securities Committee 13 April 2011
The meeting’s agenda focused on the following fields: introduction of a specific market segment for SMEs, pre- and post-trade transparency for various classes of non-equities, algorithmic and high frequency trading, and cooperation among trading venues. View Article

CEA: EMIR should recognise and address the different risk profiles of market participants
The CEA is concerned that the costs of increased central clearing will be borne disproportionately by insurance companies as long-term investors. View Article

CFTC Commissioner Scott D O’Malia: Not all end-users are created equal
Commissioner Scott D O’Malia covered the following three main topics: Who are the end-users; what did Congress say about the treatment of end-users; and how does the CFTC rule proposals treat end-users. View Article

CFTC's Chilton: Markets are safer since Flash Crash
The Commissioner also said that high-frequency traders using algorithmic trading programmes should have to prove that those programmes are safe, and that trading rules should include provisions for the programmes to be certified, to ensure they don't have the potential to go awry or violate fraud. View Article

FN: Clearing house merger talks collapse
Talks between the US post-trade group the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and European Multilateral Clearing Facility, the Netherlands-based equities clearing house, regarding a potential deal have collapsed, according to three people familiar with the matter. View Article

CEA warned on Omnibus II timeframe
Prolonged political negotiations would delay negotiations on Level 2 and Level 3, in turn reducing the amount of time available for insurers to implement changes before coming into force on 1 January 2013. View Article

Automation and standardisation of cross-border fund orders continue to rise, according to annual EFAMA/SWIFT report
The goal of this initiative is to inform the European Commission, the European Parliament and other interested stakeholders about the industry's progress towards greater standardisation and automation. View Article

IMA: Product intervention not the only tool in the box
Responding to the FSA Discussion Paper on product intervention, the IMA has cautioned that measures designed to tackle market failure should not be seen as a substitute either for effective supervision of distribution or applying sanctions to mis-selling. View Article

ALFI conference: Towards the successful implementation of the AIFMD - identifying the opportunities, addressing the challenges
Further to the adoption of the final text of Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, ALFI hosted an exceptional one-day conference fully dedicated to analysing the implications of the Directive for the industry, which attracted over 180 participants. View Article

Hedgeweek: Mutual funds increasingly driving short-term volatility in credit markets
European mutual funds are increasingly driving short-term volatility in credit markets, as they have increased their investments in credit assets to approximately €1trn at the end of 2010, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. View Article

Pensions in MENA: Potential for reform
Fiona Stewart, Financial Affairs Division, OECD says: "Pension systems in the MENA region remain at an early stage of development, with retirement provisions remaining largely in the realm of the family. However, demographic developments are bringing about changes and reforms in various countries." View Article

ECON committee: Own initiative report on audit policy - lessons from the crisis
Rapporteur Kay Swinburne (ECR, UK) was inclined to accept the suggestion to maintain audit standards across all sectors including the financial sector. She also noted that auditing should go hand in hand with corporate governance. View Article

EFAMA publishes Code for External Governance and Report on Responsible Investment
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published two own-initiative reports: the EFAMA Code for External Governance and the EFAMA Report on Responsible Investment. View Article

EFRAG's summary of feedback received on the IASB's supplementary document on impairment of financial instruments
EFRAG published a comprehensive feedback statement on the results of its outreach activities carried out in the IASB's supplementary document on impairment of financial instruments. These activities took place in February and March 2011, in close cooperation with the IASB and FASB technical staff. View Article

FASB: Current technical plan and project updates
The FASB is preparing a project plan to communicate information about its standards-setting activities to stakeholders. View Article

IFAC welcomes launch of Pan-African Federation of Accountants
The launch of the Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA)/Fédération Panafricaine des Experts-Comptables (FEPEC) is a historical event for the accountancy profession and the African continent, according to the IFAC. View Article

FRC confirmed its commitment to strengthening its international and EU influence
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published its finalised Plan and Budget for 2011/12. View Article

EP Plenary session: Differing views on the road out of the debt crisis
The bailout programmes for Portugal and Greece, the benefits and drawbacks of debt default, and the need for radically improved Eurozone crisis management were the main issues aired at the debate on the EU's debt crisis between MEPs, the Commission and Council representatives. View Article

Finnish parties agree to support bail-out for Portugal
Political rivals in Finland have agreed to back the proposed EU bail-out for Portugal, side-stepping opposition from a powerful nationalist party. The prime minister-elect, Jyrki Katainen of the conservative NCP, said he had gained the support of the Social Democrats and others on the package. View Article

IMF calls for strengthened policy response, stronger financial integration to bolster Europe's recovery
Europe's recovery is expected to solidify, but comprehensive and bold policy action will be needed to restore fiscal health, address remaining weaknesses in the financial sector, and implement reforms to restore competiveness and growth, the IMF said. View Article

FT: Too early for new Greece talks, says Commissioner Olli Rehn
On the basis of the report of the review missions, the IMF, the ECB and the EC will in a few weeks’ time have a chance to make a well-informed decision concerning the next steps for the programme with Greece, Mr Rehn said. View Article

Kathimerini: Greece denies new loan deal is on its way
Kathimerini understands that a new loan memorandum would set out new goals and a time frame for the implementation of reforms and of a privatisation drive that aims to raise €50 billion by 2015. View Article

Bruegel: French public finances - time for change
Pisani-Ferry and Boone say that for the past thirty years, France has consistently failed to manage its public finances. The debt-to-GDP ratio has inched upwards year after year, and the country has squandered most of its credibility with EU partners because of repeatedly unkept promises. View Article

Wolfgang Münchau: The political causes of a not-so-secret meeting
Münchau writes in his FT column that the failure to be able to organise a secret meeting is symbolic of the difficulty in running a monetary union (and especially a debt rollover programme) with such a diverse group of executive decision makers. View Article

Graham Bishop's Webinar: 6th May 2011
Graham was joined by co-hosts: Nigel Phipps (Moody's), nigel.phipps@moodys.com, Michael Sterzenbach (BWF), m.sterzenbach@bwf-verband.de and Sigrid Part (BMF), Sigrid.Part@bmf.gv.at. Our thanks go to those who attended and our co-hosts for their valuable contributions. View Article

Banking	Securities	Insurance
Asset Management	Corporate Governance/Accounting	Financial Services Policy
Economic Crisis	European Council/Parliament	International/G20
Commentaries	Graham Bishop's Webinars	About this email

This week in "Brussels"

12 May 2011

© Graham Bishop