European Union (EU)
MiFID's spectre looms large
Time is running out for European financial institutions to establish a framework for complying with European Union MiFID directives by its implementation date of April 2007. DSTi's Ian Hunt looks at why and what MiFID is, the anticipated impact on market…
European Parliament gives green light to Basel II
The European Parliament has voted to adopt the new rules governing the Capital Requirements Directive, which will implement the Basel II framework in the EU.
Building a risk culture
German bank WestLB appointed its first chief risk officer, Matthijs van den Adel, last year after posting heavy losses in 2002 and 2003. His first job was to restructure the bank’s entire risk management framework. By Duncan Wood
EU transparency directive flawed, say FMLC and SIA
The Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) released a working paper in late January that pointed out a substantial flaw in the proposed EU Transparency Obligations Directive.
EU transparency: Lost in translation
Many credit market participants agree that a single European financial services market would be good for all concerned. But there is widespread doubt over whether the EU is the right architect for the project.
CreditVantage launches European credit risk database
CreditVantage, a division of Fitch Risk specialising in credit risk software, has launched a new resource for European credit risk data, called the European Loan Loss Database (ELLD).
Putting the European regulatory framework in place
Hedge fund regulation high on European parliament agenda
New EU supervisors group to be created for CAD implementation
The EU Commission has indicated the need for the creation of "a new high-level forum of European supervisors" to help implement the EU's capital adequacy directive (CAD) by the 2006 deadline evenly across the region. The new draft CAD also requires…
Revealed: Goldman Sachs’ mega-deal for Greece
Greece uses swaps to hit EU debt ratios
Rethinking European power
European energy firms are seeking to reposition their products and strategies in advance of European Union market deregulation. FAME Energy reports
US retreat hits European trading
The retreat of US energy firms from energy trading has reportedly hit European volumes hard. But volumes aside, James Ockenden finds that the withdrawal may bring a fundamental change in the market. With additional reporting by Eurof Thomas
UK FSA announces own conflict-of-interest rules for banks
Today the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has released Consultation Paper 171, designed to address conflict-of-interest issues and bias in analyst recommendations.
Ahead of the green game
Germany
Small firms welcome EU proposals
BRUSSELS - European investment firms welcomed the European Commission's decision to create a special regime for them in terms of the operational risk provisions of proposed new capital adequacy rules, according to trade bodies representing the firms.
Basel II related IT spending to increase at European banks, says Celent
NEW YORK - Spending on IT for compliance with the Basel II capital accord in European Union (EU) banks is set to rise to more than €600 million in 2006 from just over €300 million in 2002, according to an analyst at US research and consultancy company…
UK expects EU countries to reopen Basel II arguments
LONDON – UK regulators expect that other European Union (EU) countries will try to reopen Basel II bank accord discussions within the EU framework, a senior UK supervisor said yesterday.
UK’s FSA delays Basel II paper to mid-July
The UK’s chief financial regulator has delayed issuing its discussion paper on implementing the Basel II bank capital adequacy accord and parallel European Union (EU) rules to mid-July.
EU officials act on post-Enron policy issues
European Union (EU) finance ministers and central bankers ordered a review on Saturday of the supervisory issues for derivatives trading and the preparation of financial data to try to avoid any Enron-like collapses in Europe.