BERLIN – A controversial new financial law giving additional powers to the German regulator and increasing its ability to intervene in the running of financial firms during times of crisis, came into effect at the beginning of August. This new law (the Strengthening of the Financial Markets and Insurance Supervision Act), which introduces amendments to existing banking and insurance supervision legislation, also imposes further reporting requirements on both types of financial institution and widens the information available to the regulator to provide early warning of potential future risks.

LONDON – The opening weeks of multilateral clearing of credit derivative contracts in Europe, required to start no later than July 31, under a European Commission-imposed deadline, are being viewed with cautious satisfaction by regulators and the industry. Concern in both the US and EU about the potential systemic and operational risks of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, particularly credit default swaps – the most common type of credit derivative – has led to a push on both side of the Atlantic for multilateral clearing.

FRANKFURT – More information should be disclosed by participants in the European credit derivative market, according to a report* released in late August by the European Central Bank (ECB). And greater transparency, it says, is needed for regulators to assess the systemic risk posed by this business.

MADRID – Originators and/or the sponsors of securitised credit products should be required to “retain a long-term economic exposure” in them, says the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the body that represents over 100 securities regulators around the world. It is one of the key recommendations in its final report on unregulated financial markets and products, published in early September.

PETALING JAYA – Malaysia’s banks are on track to adopt the Basel II advanced approach to capital adequacy measurement from the beginning of 2010, according to a mid-August report by The Sun On-line, a local on-line news service. The Basel II capital adequacy framework for banks was completed by regulators from North America, Europe and Japan in 2004, and has been introduced in many countries around the world – but not the US – since 2007.

BRUSSELS – There’s a danger that animosity towards mathematical modelling sparked by the global financial crisis could result in regulatory reform being motivated by an ill-informed nostalgia for a simpler past, a top international banking regulator told a financial risk conference over the summer.

LONDON – Strengthening supervisory cooperation in the European Union and ensuring a smooth transition to the new European Banking Authority are seen as the major tasks facing Giovanni Carosio, the new chairman of a key EU banking regulatory body.

NORWALK, Connecticut – US accounting standard-setters, criticised earlier this year for bowing to political pressure to give banks more discretion in valuing some of their toxic assets, are proposing that firms disclose more clearly how they value illiquid assets. The aim is to make it easier for investors and other users of financial statements to understand the true state of the financial affairs of a firm.

Politicians are keen on clawback provisions for banker pay. But taking back bonuses may be unenforceable in some countries By David Keefe

Finance ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20) leading economies want to see clear progress this year on setting global standards on pay in the financial sector but failed at their early-September London meeting to agree on more concrete measures urged by Germany and France in particular.