Financial Regulatory Forum

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – London’s status as a world financial centre is at risk due to a combination of rising regulation and global economic shifts, according to senior executives polled by Britain’s biggest business lobby.

London has emerged from the 2008 banking crisis but it faces fresh threats from a transfer of economic power to Asia, as well as potential unilateral regulatory action aimed at prevening a repeat of the financial meltdown, the Confederation of British Industry quoted company executives as saying in a report.

“London will lose market share, though it won’t diminish in importance,” Stephen Green, chief executive of HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, told the CBI. “This is not because of the financial crisis, but because of shifts in the global economy.”

Other executives singled out a potential regulatory crackdown in the wake of the banking crisis as the most serious threat to the British capital’s financial services sector.

“What is potentially damaging to London is if the regulatory burden becomes too burdensome,” the report quoted Michael Spencer, chief executive of interdealer broker Icap, as saying.

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – As Congress moves to reform U.S. financial regulation, key senators are nearing bipartisan agreement on stripping the Federal Reserve of its authority to supervise banks, two people familiar with the matter said.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, in charge of shepherding reform legislation through the Senate, has introduced a bill aimed at preventing a recurrence of the 2008 financial crisis that shook economies worldwide.

The outlook for that legislation and Dodd’s handling of it shifted suddenly on Wednesday, however, with news that he has decided not to seek re-election in November.

By Dan Margolies

WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The year of the Ponzi scheme will be followed by heightened regulation and more aggressive prosecutions, experts say, as U.S. officials respond to past failures.

Bernard Madoff’s massive $65-billion fraud grabbed most of the headlines in 2009, but other schemes that paid early investors with money from new victims came to light as the recession dried up new money and Madoff-inspired vigilance boosted awareness.

As 2010 approaches, regulators and prosecutors are scrambling to uncover and pursue more fraudsters, while lawmakers seek to close regulatory gaps through legislation and give enforcement officials more resources.

By Tamara Walid and Tessa Walsh

DUBAI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Investor confidence in Dubai took a fresh knock on Tuesday as officials dithered over a rescue for debt-laden state conglomerate Dubai World  and ratings agency Moody’s slapped a downgrade on government-related debt.

“You can usually take the view that no news is good news, but in Dubai’s case it’s quite the opposite — investors need to hear some developments on Dubai World’s restructuring,” said Julian Bruce, EFG-Hermes director of institutional equity sales.

Leading lenders met Dubai World on Monday to negotiate over a $3.5 billion sukuk, the world’s largest, issued by Dubai World subsidiary Nakheel, builder of Dubai’s palm-shaped islands.

By Kirstin Ridley

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The price tag for bailing out UK banks has hit 850 billion pounds ($1.4 trillion) but Britain’s spending watchdog says the final cost to taxpayers will not be known for years.

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By David Lawder and Emily Kaiser
WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended on Thursday the costly bailout of AIG and urged swift regulatory reform to safeguard the economy from the failure of big financial firms.
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By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Britain’s excessive regulatory zeal is hitting competitiveness and driving away top talent and innovative firms, as they flee a poorly devised tax regime and “spurious” legislation, one of Britain’s oldest brokerages said.

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   By Sumeet Desai
ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov 6 (Reuters) – The Group of 20 leading nations will agree this weekend it is too early to pull the plug on emergency support for the global economy and launch a new system of checks to help rebalance world growth and prevent future crises.

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   By Karey Wutkowski
WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. pay czar said on Monday that he will determine “in the near future” how he will use his power to claw back pay at companies that have taken bailout money but is not currently in negotiations to do so.

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   By Eman Goma and Rania El Gamal
KUWAIT, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Gulf banks should merge in the wake of the financial crisis, first in their home markets and then across borders, Oman’s central bank head and senior Gulf bankers said on Monday.

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