29 July 2009

AMF: Financial Regulation Newsletter 3rd quarter

The AMF will defend its policy priorities at European and international levels. In particular it will:

·         support, through the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), ambitious measures to encourage integrated financial supervision;

·         call for an early review to assess how the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive has impacted the fragmentation and transparency of European equity markets;

·         promote international accounting standards that reflect the business realities and investment horizons of the corporate sector;

·         back requests from retail investors to defend their views more effectively at European level;

·         propose an uniform approach to the 27 Member States for assessing the methods used by credit rating agencies registered in Europe;

·         emphasise all the risks associated with the possibility of issuing a European passport to offshore hedge funds;

·         defend a European regulatory framework to encourage private equity;

·         support initiatives to establish a derivatives clearing infrastructure in the euro area.

A key issue for AMF is the future role of the credit rating in Europe. AMF believes that regulators must also continue urging investors to establish internal or external models, alongside those of CRAs, in order to generate supplementary analysis. For it is now clear that reliance on credit ratings alone was one of the factors that led to the past excesses.

Finally AMF interviewed Jacques de Larosiere and he said: “In view of the crisis we must continue consolidating the banking system, implement a new international financial architecture as soon as possible, relaunch investment and prevent a return to protectionism”

Newsletter

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