Facilitation payments are in fact bribes and should be banned as a business practice, according to the new version of Transparency International’s Business Principles for Countering Bribery. Previous versions of the anti-corruption group’s business principles advocated against facilitation payments but did not go so far as a blanket ban on such payments. Now the group […]
Roberta Holland
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MEPs Say Only Banking Supervisor Should Initiate Wind-Down of Failing Banks
Members of European Parliament are lining up alongside European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as they enter negotiations on the wind-down mechanism for troubled banks, arguing that no banking union would be better than a “bad” one. European Parliament reported this week that the negotiating position adopted by its Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee places […]
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EU Lawmakers Pass Audit Reforms Promising Better Supervision, Quality
Audit firms in the EU will face increased supervision and more stringent requirements for transparency and independence, under reforms agreed to this week by European Parliament and member states. Calls for reforms to the audit sector intensified after it was revealed following the financial collapse that many large banks were said to be in sound […]
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European Parliament Approves New Consumer Protections in Mortgage Market
Mortgage lenders will have to inform potential borrowers of the real cost and risks of a mortgage, eliminate early repayment penalties, and better screen the credit-worthiness of mortgage applicants, under new mortgage regulations approved by European Parliament this week. The Mortgage Credit Directive was approved overwhelmingly during parliament’s 10 Dec. plenary session, in a vote […]
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European Commission Fines J&J, Novartis €16M for Delaying Generic Painkiller Release
The European Commission this week fined Johnson & Johnson and Novartis a combined €16 million for delaying the market entry of a generic painkiller often used by cancer patients. U.S.-based Johnson & Johnson was fined €10,798,000, and Swiss-based Novartis was fined €5,493,000 for an agreement their Dutch subsidiaries made in 2005 regarding the pain-killer depot […]
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EU, Western Europe Look Strong in Battling Corruption, Survey Shows
The European Union and Western Europe again outperformed other areas in Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index, with lower perceived levels of public sector corruption compared to other regions around the globe. TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 ranks 177 countries and regions around the world, based on experts’ analysis of corruption in the public sector. Countries […]
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U.K. Banking Regulator Adjusts Capital Regime, Standards
The United Kingdom’s banking regulator announced last week that it will extend its capital offset policy for corporate lending, in order to stay aligned with the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending scheme (FLS). The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said it will extend the corporate piece of the capital offset policy, which was due to […]
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EU Firms Facing New Rules on Providing Standardized Information for Small Investors
Small investors must be provided with a standard package of information before signing a contract, according to legislation approved by European Parliament last week. The new rules, which will be negotiated with member states before taking effect, require firms to provide small investors with a standard, two-page A4 Key Information Document (KID). The so-called KIDs […]
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European Parliament Backs Quotas for Women in Non-Executive Board Seats
Listed companies in the European Union must work toward a 40 percent quota for women in non-executive board positions by the year 2020, according to legislation approved by European Parliament last week. The directive, which still needs approval from the Council of Ministers, applies to all EU companies listed on stock exchanges that have […]
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EU Lawmakers Agree on Rules to Control Insurance Firms’ Investment Risks
European Union lawmakers last week hammered out details of new rules to reduce the risk carried by insurance firms. Members of European Parliament, representatives from the European Council and member states came to an informal agreement on the so-called Solvency II legislation, which sets up a similar set of rules for insurers that banks already face. […]