BRUSSELS – European Commission officials and bankers have welcomed the latest move by the clearing and settlements industry towards delivering the promised service improvements set out in the Code of Conduct announced with much fanfare in November last year. The Code, negotiated between the European Commission and providers of post-trade services to the securities markets, was aimed at forestalling direct regulation of the industry from Brussels.

PARIS – More discussion with a broader range of institutions is needed about pillar 3 disclosure requirements in the Basel II bank capital rules. This is because banks are worried about the potential for misinterpretation by investors and the market, according to the world’s top banking regulator.

NEW YORK – Globally accepted accounting standards are critical to the rapidly accelerating global integration of the world’s capital markets, top US stock market regulator Christopher Cox said as efforts to get international accounting rules accepted in America gathered pace in July. The efforts are sparked at least in part by fears about the growing competitive pressures exerted on US capital markets by the globalised financial arena.

LONDON – Commodity firms trading on their own account should not need licensing under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID, Europe’s ambitious and wide-ranging financial markets law that’s due to come into effect in November, according to a commodities industry working group.

NORWALK, Connecticut – US accounting rule-makers have asked their constituents whether they should undertake a joint project with international standard-setters on the thorny problem of accounting for insurance contracts – a crucial question for the development of any global risk-based capital rules for insurers.

The EU has finally launched the draft directive on its ambitious project to modernise Europe\'s prudential rules for insurers. As usual the devil’s in the detail, reports David Keefe

The streamlining of cross-border insurance group supervision proposed for the Solvency II regime would be a good model for global insurance as well as for banking, according to Jochen Sanio, head of Germany’s federal financial supervisory authority, BaFIN.

Big costs seen if Solvency II fails to converge sufficiently with accounting rule-makers on vexed insurance contract problem

New EU insurer project could encourage US regulators to move forward on their stalled plans to revise collateral rules

Regulatory consensus found over new bank capital standard. But a final rule is still awaited and doubts remain over the timetable By David Keefe