Putting advanced approaches to credit risk measurement into effect is a tough task, says Quadrant\'s Paul Ashton. And advisors with banking experience are at a premium

WASHINGTON - If William Donaldson, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pushes ahead with his controversial plan for the registration of hedge fund advisers, a legal challenge looks almost certain.

LONDON - European reinsurance firms have faced a \"surge of regulatory interest\" in recent years, and there are a number of regulatory initiatives in the pipeline that are likely to affect them. But this could produce material benefits in the longer term, according to rating agency Standard & Poor\'s.

SEOUL - South Korean banks face a tough struggle to meet their goal of adopting the more sophisticated credit risk methodology under the new Basel capital accord.

BANGALORE - Implementation of the Basel II bank capital rules could trigger a round of consolidation in India\'s banking sector, according to a top Indian central banker.

SYDNEY - Australia\'s regulators are likely to announce shortly a common end-2007 start-date for implementing the Basel II capital rules, rather than the staggered end-2006/end-2007 dates proposed by global banking regulators, banking industry sources say.

BEIJING - China\'s banking regulator plans to bring its supervisory regime up to internationally accepted levels in five years to ensure stability in the nation\'s banking sector, the China Daily newspaper reported in mid-October.

WASHINGTON - Julie Williams became Acting Comptroller of the US Currency in succession to John Hawke, who completed a five-year term as Comptroller on October 13.

LONDON - Transparency of securitsation deals in the European capital markets, which is currently inadequate, could be considerably improved in coming years as a result of the disclosure provisions in the new Basel capital accord, predicts rating agency Standard and Poor\'s.

WASHINGTON - The US Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee, a body of independent experts that analyses trends in the financial services industry, says the row over the IAS 39 accounting rule in Europe is not a good reason for US regulators to reject new international accounting rules.