The European Commission has launched a review of the corporate governance rules followed by financial firms in its 27 member states. A wide-ranging Green Paper floats a series of potential governance reforms, including new duties for directors, better risk reporting, and a wider remit for external auditors. The paper argues, “Although corporate governance did not […]
Europe
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Europe Busts First Cartel With New Plea Powers
The European Commission has reached its first cartel-busting settlement under “fast track” procedures introduced two years ago. Under the deal, ten companies that produce memory chips have agreed to pay fines totaling €331 million ($409 million). The companies were involved in price-fixing between 1998 and 2002. Samsung will pay the biggest single penalty in the […]
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German Ban Dents European Regulation
Germany undermined European efforts to maintain a coordinated response to the financial crisis in Greece and to market regulation more widely this week when it took unilateral action to clamp down on short-selling. The country’s financial regulator, BaFin, surprised other regulators when it announced a ban on “naked” short-selling transactions in government euro-zone bonds and […]
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Europe Inconsistent on Insider-Dealing Rules
The European Union’s 27 member states have taken an inconsistent approach to new laws aimed at cracking down on insider dealing, meaning that compliance requirements across the trading bloc vary widely, according to European securities regulators. The EU agreed to a common legal approach to insider dealing and stock mark manipulation seven years ago in […]
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Europe to Unveil Governance Reforms
The European Commission is expected to publish new proposals for corporate governance reform next month, which could lead to important legal changes across the trading bloc’s 27 member states. The proposals focus on improving governance standards in the financial sector. They will be based on a report received by the Commission on the sector’s governance […]
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Europe Changes Anti-Trust Procedures
The European Commission has changed the way it deals with anti-trust investigations and says it will now open formal proceedings against companies more quickly. Under a new set of procedures, the Commission will also publicly announce when it starts formal proceedings against companies and when it has sent them a formal “Statement of Objections” setting […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Financial Instruments Disclosure Poor in Europe
Many European banks and insurance companies are failing to comply with mandatory disclosure rules relating to financial instruments, according to the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). CESR, which advises the European Commission on securities regulation, analyzed compliance with the disclosure rules in IFRS 7 – Financial Instruments: Disclosures. It found that a significant minority […]
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Europe Refuses New Financial Instruments Standard
The European Commission has refused to adopt a new standard on financial assets published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). IASB released its new standard, “IFRS 9 Financial Instruments,” on November 12 after calls from the G20 nations to simplify accounting in this area, which had been exposed during last year’s financial crisis. But […]
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European IFRS Lessons for U.S. Real Estate Sector
U.S. real estate companies planning for a possible move to International Financial Reporting Standards should learn some key lessons from the experience of their peers in Europe, says a new report from Deloitte. The study, “Experiences from across the pond – Ten lessons from European IFRS conversion in the Real Estate industry,” says a move […]
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Briefing Compares G20 Exec Pay Rules
Leaders of the G20 nations agreed on a global approach to the governance of executive pay in the financial sector at their recent summit in Pittsburgh, but that does not mean compliance professionals can ignore the national-level requirements that many countries are introducing, according to law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Some observers have criticized the […]