By James Hamilton, J.D., LL.M., Principal Analyst, CCH Federal Securities Law Reporter; and CCH Derivatives Regulation Law Reporter.
The hedge fund industry generally supports the broad concepts for derivatives legislation set forth by the European Commission as the EU commits to the passage of legislation this year. In a letter to the UK House of Lords, which is collecting comments to form a broad consensus on the legislation, the Managed Funds Association opposed position limits and expressed concern about the international harmonization of OTC derivatives legislation.
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This story appeared in Bank Digest.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report assessing the risk posed by the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). TALF was created by the Federal Reserve Board to help meet consumer and small business credit needs by supporting issuance of asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS). The GAO report also examines the Treasury Department’s role in decision making for TALF and the condition of securitization markets before and after TALF.
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By James Hamilton, J.D., LL.M., Principal Analyst, CCH Federal Securities Law Reporter; and CCH Derivatives Regulation Law Reporter.
The UK Financial Services Authority has proposed significant enhancements to its corporate governance rules centering on an enhanced role of non-executive directors and board risk committees. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act, the FSA is empowered to regulate persons who have a significant influence on a firm’s affairs. The FSA created the significant influence controlled functions to capture these individuals. The proposals partially implement the FSA-specific recommendations in Sir David Walker’s review of corporate governance published late last year. The consultation period closes on 28 April 2010. The FSA hopes to have final rules in place during the third quarter of 2010.
The proposed approach would extend the scope of the regime and introduces a new, more detailed framework of controlled functions. These would make clearer the exact role an individual is performing within a firm and increases the FSA’s ability to vet and track individuals.
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