EU benchmark proposal may hit commodity index publishers

Platts fears indexes will be ‘less robust’ due to provision on supervised entities

London offices of McGraw-Hill, parent company of Platts

Like a Hollywood action hero who repeatedly survives attacks from hostile foes, commodity benchmark publishers have successfully fought back efforts at tighter regulation over the years. Now, thanks to a provision buried deep in a new European Union proposal on the regulation of financial benchmarks, the publishers have been thrust unexpectedly into their latest battle.

The EU proposal, released in December in the form of a final compromise text between the European Parliament and the European