LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s accounting watchdog said it won’t take any action against Ernst & Young (E&Y) ERNY.UL over the way it checked the books of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. bank whose failure triggered a near meltdown in global markets in 2008.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) probe focused on how E&Y, one of the world’s “Big Four” accounting firms, audited the London-based European arm of Lehman.

LONDON (Reuters) – The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it won’t take any action against Ernst & Young (E&Y) ERNY.UL over the way it checked the books of Lehman Brothers, the U.S. bank whose failure triggered a near meltdown in global markets in 2008.

The FRC probe focused on how E&Y, one of the world’s “Big Four” accounting firms, audited the London-based European arm of Lehman.

ZURICH/LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Investors must not be
complacent in valuing assets after efforts by central banks to
pump money into struggling economies, a global financial risk
watchdog said on Monday.

After a meeting in Zurich, the Financial Stability Board
(FSB) chaired by Mark Carney said risks remain even though
markets have improved and banks are in a healthier state.

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – A British court has upheld the
Financial Services Authority’s 8 million pound ($13 million)
fine for Canadian trading firm Swift Trade, the British
watchdog’s largest penalty for market manipulation.

The FSA said Swift Trade engaged in “systematic and
deliberate” trading practices known as “layering” – posting tens
of thousands of orders on the London Stock Exchange from
different parts of the world to dupe the UK market about true
supply and demand for the shares. The resulting share price
moves were exploited and the original orders deleted.

LONDON (Reuters) – Material differences in the way banks define their risky assets is blinding investors’ ability to make informed choices about where to put their money, a top regulator said on Thursday.

Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee, said a report to be published shortly will confirm suspicions among key policymakers and top bankers that the methods used – generally in-house – across the world for measuring risky assets is not working well enough.

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – The European Union should endorse
a rule that stops banks from misleading investors by booking
profits even when the value of their debt falls, Britain’s
accounting watchdog said.

Roger Marshall, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council,
said he was frustrated that “eminently sensible” reforms making
banks more transparent were being delayed by the EU’s executive
European Commission and a global push to converge standards.

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Material differences in the way
banks define their risky assets is blinding investors’ ability
to make informed choices about where to put their money, a top
regulator said on Thursday.

Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee, said a
report to be published shortly will confirm suspicions among key
policymakers and top bankers that the methods used – generally
in-house – across the world for measuring risky assets is not
working well enough.

LONDON (Reuters) – Top banks in the European Union must present so-called “living wills” by the year-end spelling out how they would survive a crisis without taxpayer aid.

The requirement will affect 39 named banks, 15 of whom have started drafting recovery plans, or living wills, under guidance of the global Financial Stability Board (FSB), the European Banking Authority said on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Bank capital rules coming into force this month are too complex and efforts to simplify them are already underway, a senior Bank of England official said on Monday.

Andrew Haldane, the bank’s director of financial stability, was among the first senior regulator to question Basel III, the world’s core regulatory response to the 2007-09 crisis, that led to banks being bailed out by taxpayers.

LONDON (Reuters) – Bank capital rules coming into force this month are too complex and efforts to simplify them are already underway, a senior Bank of England official said on Monday.

Andrew Haldane, the bank’s director of financial stability, was among the first senior regulator to question Basel III, the world’s core regulatory response to the 2007-09 crisis, that led to banks being bailed out by taxpayers.