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04 November 2010

ECON Chairwoman: The UK must export more of its regulation to Europe


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MEP Sharon Bowles stressed that some in the City forget that the UK's hedge fund and private equity industries were regulated long before the Commission proposed the AIFMD. In this respect the UK was already ahead of the game.


The EU's council of finance ministers has today rubber-stamped the final text of the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), legislation that will provide regulation for London's hedge fund and private equity industries.
When first proposed by the European Commission in 2009, the AIFMD came under fire from the City of London and UK media for being too constrictive.
Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Sharon Bowles MEP, said:
"Had the UK exported its views on issues relating to hedge funds and private equity earlier, such as contracts for difference and share owner thresholds, perhaps the AIFMD would not have been met with such derision in the City and the road to agreement might not have been so bumpy.
"Some Member States make headlines and set the tone by pushing their agenda into the EU mix. In contrast, in some cases, the UK has been quite reticent. That said, the UK must export more of its regulation to Europe.
"I believe the list of UK regulatory tools that will, could or should be exported to the EU is long and I hope, in the coming months, we see a more porous relationship between the UK and the EU in terms of exchange of ideas."


© European Parliament


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