Heading off the next credit crunch

 

A group of financial experts has put forward 18 detailed recommendations to strengthen supervision of the EU’s financial institutions and markets.

Recommendations include developing common rules for investment funds across all 27 EU countries, capping bankers’ bonuses in line with shareholder interests and establishing a crisis management system for the EU’s financial sector.

Two new EU control systems are also advocated – for financial supervision and managing risk.

“Now it is for the commission to assess and act. Next week on 4 March the commission will give a first preliminary assessment and response to the main conclusions of the report,” said commission president José Manuel Barroso. “Workers and families across Europe and the world have suffered the consequences of hubris in financial markets. The commission is determined that this must not happen again.”

The expert group was chaired by former International Monetary Fund director Jacques de Larosière. Its recommendations will be discussed at an informal meeting of EU leaders on 1 March, and again later in the month at the more formal spring summit.