FECIF : Final advice to the European Commission (EC) on the review of the Financial Conglomerates Directive

Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers

 
FECIF (R) PNG.png

 

 

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) and the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) - through the Joint Committee on Financial Conglomerates (JCFC) today publish their Final advice to the European Commission (EC) on the review of the Financial Conglomerates Directive (FCD).

 

For more information please read the joint press release and the feedback statement.

 

Direct hyperlink to final advice: http://www.ceiops.eu/media/docman/public_files/consultations/consultationpapers/FCD-Review/JCFC-advice-on-FCD-Review.pdf

 

Direct hyperlink to feedback statement: http://www.ceiops.eu/media/docman/public_files/consultations/consultationpapers/FCD-Review/JCFC-advice-on-FCD-Review-Feedback-Statement.pdf

 

Kind regards,

 

Christine Brébart

 

 

Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers

Generali Tower - NCI Business Center - 12th Floor
Avenue Louise 149/24
B - 1050 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel.: +32 2 535 76 22
Fax: +32 2 535 75 75
Email: fecif@skynet.be
Web: www.fecif.eu

Titanium Resources Group: Dredge D2 Insurance Update

http://boullevortal.com/cgi-bin/news.cgi?rm=display&articleID=1254736629

Unknownname

Dredge D2 Insurance Update

5 October 2009: Titanium Resources Group Ltd (“TRG” or “the Company”) announces an update with regard to TRG and its subsidiary Sierra Rutile Limited’s (“SRL”) legal action against insurers over its outstanding claims relating to the capsize of Dredge D2.

 

SRL’s legal action is continuing and has recently been set down for a 4 week trial commencing on 28 June 2010 in the Commercial Court, a division of the High Court in London.  On the current timetable, trial would therefore be completed by 23 July 2010, with judgment likely to be reserved at the end of the hearing and handed down at the Court's convenience thereafter. 

 

The Court has directed the parties (as part of the pre-trial timetable) to seek to resolve their disputes by mediation, a structured without prejudice settlement discussion, such mediation to take place before 29 January 2010.

 

One of the main reinsurers has already settled its share of the claim. 

ENDS

For further information: 

Titanium Resources Limited

John Sisay, Chief Executive 

Walter Kansteiner, Non-executive Chairman 

Tel: +44 (0) 207 321 0000 

Arbuthnot Securities 

Nominated Adviser & Broker

John Prior 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7012 2000

Aura Financial

Michael Oke / Andy Mills

Tel: +44 (0) 207 321 0000 

Investors Europe Stock Brokers, Gibraltar NEWS: Exchanges warn G20 of dangers in 'dark pools'

http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/TS11Q/W8MA9/TJJDP/2LI9W/D5/t Exchanges warn G20 of dangers in 'dark pools'
The world's stock and derivatives exchanges warned the Group of 20 leaders that the continued 'proper functioning' of their markets could not be taken for granted because of a proliferation of alternative trading venues such as 'dark pools' Read more >>

Investors Europe Stock Brokers Gibraltar NEWS: BHP Billiton News FY2009 Reports

http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/investorsMedia/reports/annualReports.jsp

BHP Billiton News

BHP Billiton FY2009 Reports

Today we released our 2009 Annual Report, Summary Review and Sustainability Summary Report.

23 September 2009

More Notice of Dividend Currency Exchange Rates - 2009 Final Dividend

07 September 2009

Fatality Following Injury at Minerals Exploration Operations in Zambia

18 August 2009

BHP Billiton Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2009

12 August 2009

Will Fat Cat FSA do anything about this?

Regulatory Arbitrage, the Latest Edition 2 comments

by: The Baseline Scenario September 18, 2009 | about: BCS    

The Baseline Scenario

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By James Kwak

Gillian Tett has the latest perspective on a curious deal that Barclays (BCS) did earlier this week (hat tip Brad DeLong). The deal goes something like this. Two former Barclays execs are starting a fund called Protium Finance. Protium has two equity investors who are putting in $450 million. Barclays is lending Protium $12.6 billion. Protium is using the cash to buy $12.3 billion in what we used to call toxic assets from Barclays. Protium’s 45 staff members get a management fee of $40 million per year (presumably from the equity investors, although that seems steep). Returns from the investments will be paid as follows, in this order (and this is important): (1) fund management fees; (2) a guaranteed 7% return to investors; (3) repayment of the Barclays loan; and (4) residual cash flows to the investors.

Barclays emphasized that it was not participating in regulatory arbitrage, because it is keeping the toxic assets on its balance sheet for regulatory purposes. That is, because it has a lot of exposure to those assets through its huge loan, it will continue to hold capital against those assets. So far so good.

But regulatory capital arbitrage is only one kind of arbitrage. For ordinary accounting purposes, the toxic assets are not on its balance sheet. So if they fall in value, Barclays will not have to recognize a loss – at least not until Protium defaults on its loan, which could be as far as ten years in the future. So the bank has the same true economic exposure, but can pretend it isn’t there for a long time.

Or does it have the same true economic exposure? If things go badly, yes, since Protium will default on the loan. If things go well, however, Protium’s investors get all the upside since they get the residual cash flows after the loan is paid off. So Barclays is left with all the downside and none of the upside. In return for giving away the upside, they should have gotten a good interest rate on the loan. The interest rate is LIBOR + 275 bp, and I have no way of calculating if that’s a good rate or not. But even assuming it is a good interest rate, this is what Nassim Taleb calls a nickels strategy – picking up nickels (the nice interest rate) in front of a steamroller (the risk of the assets falling in value).

Finally, we have the other kind of arbitrage. Although Barclays is recognizing its exposure to Protium, Protium is a different company, and it’s not a bank. That’s important these days, and this is Tett’s main point. In particular, because it’s not a bank, British regulators can’t do anything to it. In particular, they can’t prevent Protium from paying its managers whatever they want to pay it, and they probably can’t force Protium to even tell them what its managers are making.

So here we have the ultimate form of regulatory arbitrage. If you’re a bank exec worried about public exposure or, even worse, regulation of your compensation, go create a new special-purpose vehicle to manage bank assets, entice the equity investors in with a sweetheart deal, and pay yourself whatever you want. Given the size of Barclays, the shareholders won’t notice $40 million here or there, especially if it looks like it’s coming from someone else. Everyone wins.

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    what happens if they default tomorrow?
    Sep 18 02:30 PM |Report abuse | Link | Reply
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    • Incorrect. Regulatory Authority and Regulatory transparency lose A.K.A "The Law". Will Fat Cat FSA do anything about it? Doubt it..
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    Fed Shoots a Regulatory Shot... But it's Just a Blank

    Friday, September 18, 2009


    I have no idea what this is from
    but somehow it is appropriate.
    Thank you again, Google image search.

    Tools? We have tons of them. Don't call the Fed impotent, you pricks, they have plenty of tools at their disposal even though ZIRP looks likely to stick around for quite some time.

    Oooh. Regulation and the Fed. Two of my favorite subjects in one delicious package of FAIL. I'm getting excited.

    Someone give them some porn mags.

    WaPo (who should be on JDA Watch right now for covering that ridiculous "racism" bullshit but I'll give them a pass because I have other things on my mind and can't entirely focus on this ridiculousness much longer):

    The Federal Reserve is moving to restrict compensation practices at the nation's banks, expanding its regulatory reach to oversee how tens of thousands of bank employees ranging from chief executives to loan officers are paid.

    The Fed, acting under its existing powers as a bank regulator, aims to curtail pay practices that can encourage bank employees to take the kinds of irresponsible risks that may have led to the financial crisis. It is not seeking to set caps on the amount any individual employee can be paid, said sources familiar with the plans.

    Fed officials and many private analysts have concluded that pay practices emphasizing short-term performance contributed to the near-collapse of the financial system last year.

    For example, a trader who receives bonuses based solely on one year's performance might make bets that pay off in the short run but cause vast losses in the long run. A loan officer paid only based on the volume of loans issued might not pay enough attention to the quality of those loans. Under the approach envisioned by the Fed, the two dozen or so largest banks would have to explain these pay practices to their regulator, and adjust them if examiners think they endanger the safety and soundness of the bank, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy is not yet final.

    Some critics viewed the expected new regulations as a form of mission creep by the central bank, as it is being undertaken without explicit authorization from Congress. It comes as the Fed is facing extreme political pressure, under fire for its efforts to stabilize the financial system and for regulatory failures in the years before the crisis -- and as Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is up for Senate confirmation for a second term.

    via jrdeputyaccountant.com

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    Obama financial reform proposals: what they mean to European Institutions and IFAS

    Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers
     

     

    On June 17, 2009 the Obama Administration published a white paper outlining a comprehensive set of financial reform proposals.  The proposals, as expected, are broad and detailed.  If you are interested in a relatively short summary, the item produced by the US law firm K&L Gates accessible at the following link: http://www.klgates.com/newsstand/Detail.aspx?publication=5728 .

     

    The K&L summary notes that while the proposals would have significant impact on the financial services industry, they are more moderate than many expected.  They are less far reaching than many proposed by certain commentators (e.g., the January 2009 proposals from the Group of 30).  Many of the proposals require Congressional legislation.  At present, the key targets include empowering the Federal Reserve as the systemic risk regulator and the proposed CFPA, recommendations which interest groups have criticized in the days since the proposal’s release.

     

    The Obama Administration has subsequently followed up on its June 17 white paper with piecemeal legislative proposals addressing some (but by no means all) of its reform program.  The following link to a subsequent K&L summary gives a good and readable update on the US legislative proposals to date:  http://www.klgates.com/newsstand/Detail.aspx?publication=5800 .  This summary concludes with the following assessment on the prospects for additional proposals and legislative action:

     

    The Obama Administration is expected to continue filling in the details of its regulatory reform plan at much the same speed. The pattern where the Administration’s release of its proposed legislative language is followed in short order by the House’s release of largely similar legislation is also expected to continue and is indicative of the high level of coordination that is taking place between the White House and Capitol Hill. Chairman Frank has scheduled a number of tentative hearings and markups through the end of July; additional hearings and markups will continue into the fall, after Congress returns from its August recess.

     

    I thought you might find the above of interest given where we are in Europe.

     

    Best wishes,

    Vincent J.Derudder"

     

    Compliments of..

     

    investorseurope
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