Hedge funds are among the principal targets of the strengthened links between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Paris-based Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), according to a report in todays Financial Times.
Other areas of interest, says the report, include the possibility of the US mutual fund trading scandal spreading to Europe, and the work of the credit ratings agencies. The European Parliament has recently raised concerns about the degree of regulatory control in Europe over both hedge funds and the credit rating agencies.
CESR, which co-ordinates the work of national securities regulators in Europe and advises on how pan-European regulatory initiatives can be implemented, has a similar rule-making role to the SEC.