EC prepares new consultation on structured products

The European Commission wants to increase transparency in the retail structured products market by requiring a key disclosure document to be included with each issue. But product providers are concerned by the scope of the initiative and the possibility of having to incorporate a synthetic risk and reward indicator. Matt Cameron reports

European regulators are slowly working their way through the lengthy to-do list drawn up just before, during and after the financial crisis. With politicians ensuring a keen focus on the push to central clearing for much of the over-the-counter derivatives market and an increase in the level of regulatory capital held by banks, it’s no surprise some of the projects have dropped out of the public glare. For structured products issuers, however, the drive to improve transparency is about to be