A fundamental redesign of macro- and micro-prudential supervision in Europe is being proposed. This is where the hard bargaining starts

Regulatory pressure grows for more bond and derivative price information. Crisis opens divisions among market participants By Melvyn Westlake

US regulators stick to their guns as critics again pursue mark-to-market accounting; Further study is advised for Europe By David Keefe

BASEL – Regulators\' determination to ensure that major banks eventually hold higher and better quality capital was underscored in mid-March when the Basel Committee spelt out the comprehensive series of measures that it intends to develop during the next couple of years. The four-point package of measures was endorsed at the latest quarterly meeting of Basel Committee regulators, who set prudential standards for banks.

BRUSSELS – A rule allowing European investors to purchase structured credit products only if the originator retains 5% of the issue now seems almost certain to become law in the EU. This rule is included in the revised Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) that was approved by the powerful Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee of the European Parliament on March 9. The last hurdle for the CRD is a vote of the full Parliament towards the end of April, when the directive is expected to pass without much further change.

LONDON - Representatives of the credit derivatives industry are claiming the agreement that nine major dealer firms reached with the European Commission in mid-February is a compromise “giving everybody a bit of what they want.” However, it looks more like a victory for internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

WASHINGTON – A private sector group has been formed to give early warnings when it identifies potentially serious systemic risks building up in the financial system. This 26-person Market Monitoring Group (MMG), was launched in mid-March by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Washington industry body representing some 380 financial firms around the world. MMG will be chaired by Jacques de Larosière, former head of both the Bank of France and the International Monetary Fund, and David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada.

MADRID – Proposals to beef up the global monitoring and oversight of credit rating agencies have been sent to the Group of 20 (G20) economically largest countries by a key international body of security market watchdogs. Several countries as well as the EU are planning to regulate the credit rating industry and there are fears that this will lead to a burdensome and duplicative fragmentation of supervision.

LONDON – Key organisations in the international regulatory response to the financial crisis – the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and the Basel Committee of global banking regulators – are expanding their membership to reflect the world-wide impact of the turbulence.

BRUSSELS – European countries risk backing “zombie” banks unless they develop a common approach on the treatment of the impaired assets of the banks they’ve rescued in the financial crisis, according to Charlie McCreevy, the European Union’s chief financial regulator.