Effective Regulation in the Transatlantic Marketplace

The conference will be addressed by Mr. Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and of the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG and Chairman of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), and Mr. Thomas Mirow, Deputy Finance Minister, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany. The event is being hosted by Mr. Klaus-Peter Mueller, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, Commerzbank AG and President of the Association of German Banks. The IIF is the global association of financial institutions with over 360 member financial services firms from across the world. The Association of German Banks represents more than 220 private commercial banks in Germany.

A number of key figures in financial services on both sides of the Atlantic will speak at today's event including Jochen Sanio, President, Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, Germany; Arthur Angulo, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Tom Jones, Vice Chairman, International Accounting Standards Board; Ethiopis Tafara, Director, Office of International Affairs, US Securities & Exchange Commission; and Philippe Richard, Secretary General of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Eighty percent of global financial flows involve Europe and North-America, making it critical for market participants to keep abreast of industry developments and broader structural changes. Today's symposium provides a forum for leading officials, regula-tors, and industry experts to address emerging standards on a range of current issues impacting the financial sector. Issues which will be specifically addressed during the meeting include, inter alia, coordination of enforcement actions, anti money laundering and counter terrorism financing regulations, harmonization of reporting standards, global accounting standards, hedge funds and cross-border access to US investors.

The theme of the symposium is the promotion of effective and efficient regulation in the transatlantic marketplace. It builds on recent political initiatives, growing market integration and, not least, the IIF's Proposal for a Strategic Dialogue on Effective Regulation published in December 2006. IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara said, >>The Institute's Proposal for a Strategic Dialogue on Effective Regulation represents the first time that the global financial industry has developed and put forward a set of Guiding Principles to frame our relations with the regulators and to place them on a more consistent footing across the globe. IIF member firms are concerned about the growing complexity of regulations. This complexity is compounded by inconsistencies in regulatory approaches across the globe and divergence in application of international standards such as Basel II.
Mr. Dallara noted that, >>Today's event is timely given the increasing political focus on the need for an efficient marketplace between the EU and US. To move forward in developing the environment needed for such an initiative to be successful, we would encourage regulators in the US and Europe to embrace the Guiding Principles proposed by the IIF and to work with the industry in translating them into concrete solutions in particular areas of concern. It is particularly useful for senior public sector officials and industry leaders to cooperate in this manner on issues such as anti money laundering and counter terrorism finance where we share a common objective of fighting financial crime effectively.

During the keynote address, the IIF's Chairman Josef Ackermann noted that more pro-gress was needed in creating structures for financial oversight that are commensurate with the realities of global financial markets. He observed, >>Preserving market stability has become a joint international task in light of financial markets greater size, connectedness and vulnerability to cross-border contagion. Similarly, it has become more difficult to ensure the global financial system's integrity against the background of the contemporary threats from international money laundering and terrorist finance. And finally, promoting market efficiency and the growth of the financial industry has become a more demanding objective considering the negative impacts of inconsistent national market regulations and barriers to cross-border business.

Given these challenges, I believe greater advances towards a more coordinated approach in financial market regulation and supervision can be very beneficial. To be sure, we are not starting from scratch, and policymakers have made some promising progress at improving cooperation and coordination among national authorities.
In his welcoming address to the conference, Klaus-Peter Mueller also touched upon the themes of market integration, saying, >>I believe that, in a global marketplace, the advantage will lie with those financial centres that provide the most appropriate set of rules. The regulatory framework has thus become a crucial factor that can help or hinder financial enterprises in delivering high quality services in a secure and cost-effective way.

Background

Guiding Principles

The IIF's Proposal for a Strategic Dialogue on Effective Regulation was published in December 2006 in New York. The initiative, directed by the IIF's Special Committee for a Strategic Dialogue on Effective Regulation, is co-chaired by Mr. William B. Harrison Jr., former Chairman of the Board, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Mr. Peter Wuffli, Group Chief Executive of UBS AG. The Proposal highlights key guiding principles including:

– Fostering mutual trust and respect for judgment as the foundation for effective regulation

– Encouraging collective market-based solutions whenever possible;

– Prioritizing global coordination as an essential part of any jurisdiction's regulatory process

– Supporting a meaningful legislative dialogue with input from both industry and regulators

– Recognizing that effective and efficient regulation requires assessing policies and new initiatives dynamically

– Promoting contingency planning as an ongoing, joint obligation of the public and private sectors and

– Ensuring proportionate enforcement that is consistent with efficient and effective regulation.

For more information please visit: http://www.germanbanks.org or http://www.IIF.com

Pressekontakt:
Bundesverband deutscher Banken
Presse und Kommunikation
Burgstr. 28
10178 Berlin
Telefon (0 30) 16 63 – 12 01 / – 12 02
Telefax (0 30) 16 63 – 12 99
Mailto:Pressestelle@bdb.de