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The European Commission will today (18 December) launch a long-awaited consultation to explore possible regulations over hedge funds, sparking fierce criticism from the Socialists, who accuse Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy of postponing genuine intervention from Brussels once again.
Private equity and hedge funds are private capital pools. Private equity investment funds invest in companies, mainly by acquiring businesses to sell them at a higher price, so-called 'buy-outs'. Hedge funds are investment vehicles which exploit market imperfections to make returns even when markets are underperforming.
Private equity and hedge funds are very lightly regulated. This allows them to make investments and take risks that other actors cannot take. Following the financial turmoil in the US and Europe, the European Parliament decided to address the issue. Although the crisis was not determined by hedge and private funds, some believe they may have made it worse.
In September, the Parliament adopted two resolutions urging the Commission to regulate private equity and hedge funds more tightly. The texts sprang from two reports drafted by Party of European Socialists President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (see his September 2008 interview with EurActiv) and EPP-ED MEP Klaus-Heiner Lehne.
The Commission insists that the consultation text, to be published later today, will be based on the principle that "all financial markets, products and participants should be regulated or subject to oversight, as appropriate to their circumstances," as stated
by the G20 meeting of Washington on 15 November (EurActiv 17/11/08).
McCreevy is looking for "evidence" in favour of regulating hedge funds. But private equity are not included in the excercise. The quest for proof will last until the end of January 2009, when the consultation will be closed. In February, a conference will be held in Brussels to share the results of the consultation process.
The Socialists in the European Parliament do not agree with this approach and are calling for prompt completion of legal procedures to get the regulation through.
In a letter
sent to Commission President José Manuel Barroso, prominent members of the Socialist Group, the second biggest political group in the Parliament, recalled that McCreevy had already launched a consultation on the topic two years ago, which came to nothing.
In an unusual attack, they refer to McCreevy as "a paid lobbyist of the finance industry" and make clear that they have "lost trust and confidence" in him. They asked Barroso to make sure that the Commission would come forward with a genuine proposal to regulate hedge funds and private equity.
McCreevy's spokesperson reacted to the accusations by explaining that a new consultation was needed to "take into account the latest developments in financial markets," stressing that launching a consultation is normally the first step for regulating any sector.
McCreevy has come in for strong criticism in recent months for his traditional anti-regulatory stance, which the current crisis exposed as highly controversial. On the other hand, he also finds himself under attack from the industry itself for protecting the interests of his own country, Ireland, on some key issues, including the European passport for investment fund managers (EurActiv 06/11/08).
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