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BBA warns of risk of losing step with regulatory reform
The EU could be out of step with other countries as the appetite for globally coordinated regulatory reform appears to be waning, the BBA warns.
With just months to go before the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Seoul, the British Bankers Association (BBA) warned that the appetite for globally coordinated regulatory reform appears to be waning, and that the EU could be out of step by implementing reforms much sooner while other countries remain undecided about changes.
Speaking at a conference in London, BBA chief executive Angela Knight, said the forthcoming G20 meeting of finance ministers needs to ensure intentions are matched by deeds, and that regulatory reform proceeds in a coordinated way across countries.
“There is no shortage of ideas, consultations and proposals for regulatory reforms coming not only from our own UK policymakers but also from the EU and other rulemakers such as the Basel Committee," Knight stated. "Each week brings some new proposal, or a new spin on an old one. The G20 began well in pulling these initiatives together. But what looked coherent some 18 months ago looks much less so today.
“As we approach the coming G20 meeting, we must remember that the EU must be part of the international process, international decision making, international agreement and international timescales. A solution agreed in the EU is not an international solution unless it is agreed also with the other G20 members. We need to look across the Atlantic, and east towards Asia, to ensure changes are imposed sensibly everywhere.
“If they do not, then the result will be significant difficulties for businesses in Europe and for the many hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on financial services industry.”
Date Posted:1st October 2010