This week in "Brussels"

25 June 2009




©GrahamBishop.com 2009Jump directly to articles on:-
Financial Services PolicyBankingSecuritiesInsurance
Asset ManagementCorporate GovernanceEdited Minutes of key legislative BodiesCompetition issues in financial Services
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Articles from 18 June 2009 - 25 June 2009
Financial Services Policy Back to top 

Trichet: key ECB policy actions in the crisis
Trichet remarked that ECB has taken forceful action to mitigate the effects of the crisis as events have unfolded. “We were the first to act back in August 2007".  View Article

ECB's González-Páramo: the future of central banking
ECB's José Manuel González-Páramo presented the role that central banks will have in the new international financial architecture in safeguarding financial stability.  View Article

OECD - Priorities for Reform and Strategies which will Phase-out Emergency Measures
The report discusses the different causes of the financial crisis and analyzes the priorities for reforming incentives in financial markets and the phasing out of emergency measures.  View Article

ECB's Smaghi warns against wasting opportunities for reform
There is a risk the sense of urgency for reform is fading away and nationalistic tendencies and institutional jealousies  are re-emerging. The forces pushing towards maintaining the status quo are gaining strength.  View Article

Goldschmidt: Response to Commission’s Communication on Financial Services Policy
Paul Goldschmidt says that moving immediately to a system of a “Single Eurozone Supervisor” would make it possible to address some of the current problems with greater flexibility.  View Article

SEC proposes amendments to Money Market Funds Regulation
The SEC consults on the proposals which would require money market funds to maintain a portion of their portfolios in highly liquid investments, reduce their exposure to long-term debt, and limit their investments.  View Article

CFTC's Gensler – Derivatives market to become subject to comprehensive regulation
Gensler calls for a regulatory regime to cover the entire over-the-counter derivatives marketplace, this will require two complementary regimes - one for dealers and another for regulation of the market functions.  View Article

SEC Schapiro: SEC should be primary regulator of OTC Derivatives
The primary responsibility for the regulation of “securities-related” over-the-counter derivatives should be with the SEC, Chairman Mary Schapiro told the US Senate's Banking Committee.  View Article

FSA Japan: Report on the Internationalization of Japanese Financial and Capital Markets
There appears to be no end to the misconduct by listed companies and to the implementation of capital policies, that severely undermine the interests of minority shareholders, the report states.  View Article



Banking Back to top 

BBA: Banks stress need for international co-operation on reform
In its response to the Turner review BBA welcomed the FSA’s broad approach but expressed concern that the impact of its suggestions needed to be considered across the piece and not in isolation.  View Article

CEBS’s outcome of its assessment reports of banks’ disclosures
The outcome of CEBS’s review of banks' transparency in their 2008 audited annual reports showed improvements whereas the analysis of Pillar 3 disclosures indicates a need for further convergence.  View Article

CEBS publishes liquidity identity card
The ID provides supervisors of European cross-border banking groups with a single prudential language for the exchange of information, in particular within colleges of supervisors.  View Article

CEBS consults on implementation guidelines on hybrid capital instruments
The draft guidelines complement the new CRD provisions and cover the topics of permanence, flexibility of payments, loss absorbency, limits and hybrid instruments issued through an SPV.  View Article



Securities Back to top 

ESCB and CESR: Recommendation on post-trading infrastructures in the EU
The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) have published today recommendations for securities settlement systems and central counterparties (CCPs) in the European Union.  View Article

Fed plans repo markets revamp
The US Federal Reserve is considering dramatic changes to the giant repurchase markets where banks around the world raise overnight dollar loans. The plans include creating a utility to replace the Wall Street banks that handle transactions.  View Article

Europe to review ‘dark pool’ trading
Dark pools, a rapidly growing type of share trading facility, are to be reviewed by the European Commission amid signs that financial regulators are turning their attention to transparency in global equity ­markets.  View Article

IOSCO publishes principles for the effective regulation of short-selling
Short-selling should operate in a well-structured regulatory framework, IOSCO recommends. Regulators should have an effective discipline for the settlement of short-selling transactions which includes a strict settlement of failed trades.  View Article

ESCB - CESR recommendations on post-trading infrastructure
The non-binding Recommendations are addressed to regulators and overseers helping to achieve their consistent implementation and a level playing field for securities settlement systems and CCPs in the EU.  View Article

Bank of England raises T2S concerns
The Bank of England has raised serious doubts over whether it will join the European Central Bank's Target2-Securities (T2S) integrated settlement system.  View Article

BATS exchange announces further latency reductions
BATS Exchange, an innovative and technology leading U.S. stock exchange, today announced technology upgrades to its ultra-fast trading platform resulting in average latency of 395 micro-seconds, with 80% of orders executed within 400 micro-seconds.  View Article



Insurance Back to top 

CEIOPS’ half-year report on Financial Stability
CEIOPS findings confirm that insurance companies, in their role as important investors, have increasingly been affected by the financial turmoil, followed by the financial crisis and the economic recession.  View Article

Basel Committee and IADI: Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance Systems
The 18 Core Principles are a voluntary framework for effective deposit insurance practices. National authorities are free to put in place supplementary measures that they deem necessary.   View Article

CEIOPS report on Securitization in the insurance sector
The report explores the prospects of ILS and looks at similarities with other types of securitisation, especially structured credit products. It also provides an overview of the ILS market, its development and the investor structure.  View Article



Asset Management Back to top 

AMF Regulation and Asset Management Newsletter 2/2009
The Commission proposal on alternative investment fund Managers raises some misgivings, AMF General Secretary Thierry Francq said. Also, portfolio valuation for alternative funds is insufficiently supervised.  View Article

EVCA: Considerable drop in investment and divestment levels
Private equity fundraising, investment and divestment activity fell during the first quarter of 2009, as investors focus on managing their existing portfolios and commitments. The data, released by EVCA, also shows venture capital and financing for SMEs.  View Article



Corporate Governance Back to top 

IASB proposes guidance for the preparation and presentation of management commentary
The proposals draw upon international best practice in the preparation and presentation of management commentary. Providing non-mandatory guidance will improve the consistency and comparability across jurisdictions, the IASB believes.  View Article

IASB discussion paper on accounting for ‘own credit risk’
From an accounting perspective there are good reasons for applying fair value measurement to both assets and liabilities, IASB says. However, some see the outcome as counter-intuitive.   View Article

Commission consults on international standards for statutory audit of EU companies
The Commission consults to determine whether ISAs should be adopted in the EU. According to an independent study, the benefits of adoption would outweigh the costs.  View Article

IASB clarifies accounting for group cash-settled share-based payment transactions
The IASB issued amendments to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment that clarify the accounting for group cash-settled share-based payment transactions.  View Article



Edited Minutes of key legislative Bodies Back to top 

European Council Conclusions 18-19 June
The European Council decided on the creation of  a new financial supervisory architecture and called for further progress on alternative investment funds.  View Article



Competition issues in financial Services Back to top 

Commission report on merger regulation
The EU Merger Regulation has contributed to more efficient merger control within the EU, the report concludes. However, it also identifies certain areas where further reflection may be useful.    View Article





© Graham Bishop